. . . It was thought that DDT ended them in the USA over 50 years ago but a new strain is resistant to DDT. . .
Carmine D.
Hi Carmine,
I don't know if the proper term is mutation but it seems to be a problem all round these days. Way, way back --two centuries to be exact -- when I was in junior high a science taught us that when you kill of just about anything from houseflies to bacteria that there will always be x-amount of survivors that will breed a more resistant strain.
This is the reason for many of the so-called super-infections acquired during hospital stays. DDT, hexachloriphine, and some antibiotics, etc., were quickly pressed into to use only to be later discovered to not only be bad for germs and vermin but people too.
Keeping a tidy house is of course very important but there are those everyday instances of inadvertant susceptibility as we go about our business out there in the world.
I can't count the times when I've probably broadcasted my own germs on a crowded subway when I've had to go do a days work when ill. There are lots of coughers, sneezers and carriers around.
Venson