BIOLOGICAL  EFFECTS

Little animals and the earth and the rest of the environment etc.....not really biology, it's chemicals.

Erik Baard, author on villagevoice.com, used the picture to the right as a convincing image to prove that malathion is harmful to mammals. However, on thee site, Baard states that malathion is almost "innocuous" to humans, meaning that it is barely effective at all.

So, as you now know, West Nile spraying does not really kill the virus, just the carriers,  mosquitoes. These mosquitoes are hopefully the only ones killed or harmed by the spraying, but a lot of people have concerns about their family and their pets during West Nile spraying. This is probably because, as you also know, malathion inhibits cholinesterase, which humans obviously need. If we had too much exposure to malathion, it could cause problems with our nervous systems. Because spraying happens almost every summer now, in New York and other highly "contaminated" areas, residents are sure to be speaking out about malathion.

One expert said: "While it is advertised as one of the safest organophosphate pesticides, it has caused birth defects, mutenogenic and teratogenic effects, brain damage, childhood leukemia,..." Ecologist David Schindler

Truck spraying              malathion....abcnews.com

David Moroz, an environmentalist from Winnipeg, says " Malathion is more toxic to mosquitoes than to bees. You should be able to see those things; you should be able to see butterflies on your lawn and honey bees on clover." Moroz, ctv

According to testing done by health officials in the US and in Canada, Malathion is not a serious health concern when sprayed in quantities like those  used to combat WNV. However, if humans want to minimize possible effects of the chemical, officials advise staying indoors with the windows shut and the air conditioning off so that you are not exposed to air full of spray. If you do feel symptoms, such as nausea, headache, diarrhea or breathing problems after your area has been sprayed, see a doctor. (cdc.com)

A lot of people think that malathion kills more people than it saves , because when moquitoes die, they can quickly repopulate, causing only a momentary (days) lack of moquitoes. The claim is that this in turn is non profitable and in fact has harmful effects on animals and humans.

Trucks do spraying in certain areas, in           others, small aircraft are used.

A reason for this sentiment is that malathion is classified as a nerve agent, among others that were created for use in World War II(all organophosphates) However, malthion has a different effect on insects than on humans and animals, meaning that it is not as devestating as the nerve agents the Nazis used to gas during the war. Those agents were also antiacetylcholine, which makes people today feel that malathion is directly related to those deaths When acetylcholine is inhibited by the stronger nerve gases, "convulsions" and "eventual death by asphyxiation" occur. The title or classification of malathion as a "chemical agent insecticide" denotes soemthing very negative. Still, statees continue to use the spray as a positive force against WNV. (nationmaster.com)

The picture to the left from villagevoice.com shows overheated malathion in a warehouse in Texas in 1997. According to author Erik Baard, "Overheated spray, in particular, can even be deadly. Five  workers were killed and another 2800 sickened in Pakistan during a 1976 malaria eradication program. The culprit? Isomalathion, created when the product was improperly stored."  The product is intended to be stored at under 77 degrees F, but was found at the Texas warehouse at up to 115 degrees.

Many sources say that asthma is greatly affected and aggravated by malathioon and the spray in general. In Fort Collins, Fla., 200 people called the state because they were concerned about the spray causing respiratory problems and or killing things that it wasn't meant to kill, such as honey bees.  (CBS4 Denver CO.)

Back to larvacides

Next....the end of it all