# How did we control malaria? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2001, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599 "2001-10-10T16:56:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/1 "2001-10-10T16:56:27Z")
How did we get a handle on malaria in the USA? We still have all the ingredients: swamps and mosquitoes. And, it’s not like we’re even given a vaccine! So, what’s the scoop? In mesh netting, - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![skripek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@skripek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skripek)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/2 "2001-10-10T17:13:34Z")
Although not what this site says [http://www.malaria.org/howcontrolled.html](http://www.malaria.org/howcontrolled.html) I would assume that it has a great deal to do with sanation (more specifically sewage). As i recall Malaria was a big problem during the construction of the panama canal until someone took control of those problems. ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/3 "2001-10-10T19:56:44Z")
This brief article might be helpful: [Malaria in the United States](http://advance.byu.edu/bym/1997/97winter/usmalaria.html) Malaria is still a concern in the US: [http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol2no1/zuckerei.htm](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol2no1/zuckerei.htm) > [@](#): > > Three recent outbreaks of locally acquired malaria in densely populated areas of the United States demonstrate the continued risk for mosquitoborne transmission of this disease. Increased global travel, immigration, and the presence of competent anopheline vectors throughout the continental United States contribute to the ongoing threat of malaria transmission. The likelihood of mosquitoborne transmission in the United States is dependent on the interactions between the human host, anopheline vector, malaria parasite, and environmental conditions. Recent changes in the epidemiology of locally acquired malaria and possible factors contributing to these changes are discussed. **skripek** , you may be confusing malaria with [Typhoid](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/typhoidfever_g.htm) > [@](#): > > You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding S. Typhi or if sewage contaminated with S. Typhi bacteria gets into the water you use for drinking or washing food. Therefore, typhoid fever is more common in areas of the world where handwashing is less frequent and water is likely to be contaminated with sewage ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/4 "2001-10-10T20:06:22Z")
There was a time (post-WWII) when the whole world thought malaria was about to be eradicated because of insecticides and anti-malarial drugs. I think these things, along with swamp drainage (and probably other things) were what got rid of malaria in the U.S. in the first place. One reason it doesn’t come back, even though competent mosquito vectors are all over the place, is that the government pounces on any case of malaria acquired in the U.S. (pretty rare, but it happens) and takes steps to stop the spread, like spraying the area for mosquitoes and trying to medicate anyone who was around when it happened. Another thing that helps us is that the incubation period for malaria in a mosquito that bites an infected person (the amount of time before the mosquito can infect someone else) is 2-3 weeks, and in our climate mosquitoes are less likely to live that long. In some places, malaria has a hard time getting established because there are a lot of cattle around, and if the mosquitoes around there would rather bite the cattle than the people, it makes the spread less likely. That’s part of what slows it down in the U.S. and in Britain (although I’m sure there are plenty of cattle in places that still have malaria). There’s all kinds of malaria info on the CDC website, including [reports on the few cases that show up in the U.S.](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol2no1/zuckerei.htm) and reports about what other countries are doing about eradicating it. ---
**Author:** ![theretsof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@theretsof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theretsof)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/5 "2001-10-10T20:08:47Z")
There doesn’t seem to be a good archive search engine at [newyorker.com](http://newyorker.com), but there was a great article earlier this summer in The New Yorker (no, I don’t know which one, but it was in the last 3 months - library (gasp!) search would do it). About this fella who took it upon himself to rid the world of malaria. Turns out only several kinds of mosquito’s which tend to spread the disease (out of thousands), and getting rid of those species’ was the goal. DDT worked well for this, until folks started using it for anything and everything instead of selectively. Check it out, very interesting reading. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/6 "2001-10-10T20:14:37Z")
Well, I think the nearly universal presence of window screens has a lot to do with it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/7 "2001-10-10T20:24:44Z")
**DDG** is right. Five seconds after I submitted my last post, I found [a great article about malaria eradication (and its possible return) on the CDC website,](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no1/reiter.htm) and it has this paragraph about how it was eliminated in Britain: > [@](#): > > After the 1880s, transmission dropped precipitously, and the disease became relatively rare, except during a short period following World War I. This decline cannot be attributed to climate change, for it occurred during a warming phase, when temperatures were already much higher than in the Little Ice Age. Factors contributing to the decline include the following: Mosquito habitat was eliminated by improved drainage and extensive land reclamation. Root crops, such as turnips and mangel-wurzels, were introduced as winter fodder, enabling farmers to maintain much greater numbers of animals throughout the year; this diverted An. atroparvus, a zoophilic species, from feeding on humans. Rural populations declined as manual labor was replaced by machinery, further reducing the availability of humans as hosts for both mosquitoes and parasites. New building materials and improved methods of construction made houses more mosquito-proof, especially in winter, thus reducing the risk for contact with mosquitoes. Greater access to medical care and a rapid drop in the cost of quinine reduced the survival rate of the malaria parasite in its human host. A lot of people have predicted that global warming will cause malaria to come back to temperate zones, but this article argues against that by pointing out that malaria was eradicated from Britain during a time of warming that followed the Little Ice Age, so climate isn’t enough. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/8 "2001-10-10T23:43:24Z")
Actually, malaria is on the rise in tropical areas, simply because we’ve grown so complacent that we’ve begun to let mosquito control programs slide. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/9 "2001-10-11T00:11:39Z")
While building the Panama Canal, the swamps were drained to stop the breeding of mosquitos so they wouldn’t spread malaria. Also, people who have sickle cell anemia are immune to malaria. Part of evolution. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-control-malaria/86599/10 "2001-10-11T02:17:14Z")
I don’t think malaria was as much of a problem in Panama as yellow fever was. The former is much more lethal. The CDC publishes warnings for travelers that tell you where you can expect malaria or yellow fever or other nasty diseases when you go overseas.