We are told that four people in the Sunshine State and one person in the Lone Star State were recently treated for malaria, though the agency says the cases between the two states are unrelated. So, where did this new outbreak of malaria come from, and how is the government planning to deal with it?

Since 1951, malaria has been considered eradicated from the U.S. Spraying operations involving DDT that commenced in 1947 are credited with ridding the country of this plague.

Prior to 1947, there were about 15,000 cases of malaria in the Southeast alone. After the spraying operations, there were none to speak of, and most people ended up forgetting the word malaria entirely.

Fast-forward a number of decades and here we are once again dealing with malaria in America. Had DDT not been banned in the 1970s, some say malaria could have been eradicated globally, but now it is back.

"Malaria could be eradicated worldwide by now if not for the global ban of DDT in the 1970s," claims The New American's Rebecca Terrell. "That came after a vicious, unsubstantiated smear campaign in the 1960s by radical environmentalists. They spread lies about DDT thinning bird eggshells, killing humans, and causing cancer."

"Though all allegations against DDT have been proven wrong, the United Nations Environment Program still classifies the pesticide as one of 12 'Persistent Organic Pollutants,' effectively banning it in most countries."