Chemical Larvicide Not Zika Virus, True Cause Of Brazil’s Microcephaly
Outbreak: Doctors
Global
Research, February 18, 2016
Tech
Times 14 February 2016
1591
The microcephaly
outbreak in Brazil, which coincided with the spread of the Zika virus,
continues to stun the world, even months after the incident was first reported.
Pregnant women all
over the world have been advised to take caution. The Zika virus infection has
been linked to newborn babies with the birth defect microcephaly. This is a
congenital condition in which babies are born with unusually tiny heads.
The notion, however,
has recently been challenged by a group of Argentine physicians. The group
suspects that the Zika virus is not to blame for the rise in microcephaly
cases, but that a toxic larvicide introduced into Brazil’s water supplies may
be the real culprit.
Not A Coincidence?
According to the Physicians in Crop-Sprayed Towns (PCST), a
chemical larvicide that produces malformations in mosquitoes was injected into
Brazil’s water supplies in 2014 in order to stop the development of mosquito
larvae in drinking water tanks.
The chemical, which is known as Pyriproxyfen, was used in a
massive government-run program tasked to control the mosquito population in the
country. Pyriproxyfen is a larvicide manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical, a
company associated [PDF]
with Monsanto. However, PCST has referred to Sumitomo as a subsidiary of
Monsanto.
“Malformations detected in thousands of children from
pregnant women living in areas where the Brazilian state added pyriproxyfen to
drinking water is not a coincidence,” the PCST wrote [pdf]
in the report.
For instance, the Brazilian Health Ministry had injected
pyriproxyfen to reservoirs in the state of Pernambuco. In the area, the
proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito,
which carries the Zika virus, is very high, the PCST said.
Pernambuco is also the first state in Brazil to notice the
problem. The state contains 35
percent of the total microcephaly cases in the country.
The group of Argentine doctors points out that during past
Zika epidemics, there have not been any cases of microcephaly linked with the
virus. In fact, about 75 percent of the population in countries where Zika broke
out had been infected by the mosquito-borne virus.
In countries such as Colombia where there are plenty of Zika
cases, there are no records of microcephaly linked to Zika, the group said.
When the Colombian president announced that many of the
country’s citizens were infected with Zika but that there was not a single case
of microcephaly, the allegations soon emerged. Some 3,177 pregnant women in the
country were infected with Zika, but the PCST report said these women are
carrying healthy fetuses or had given birth to healthy babies.
Remain Skeptical
On its website, Sumitomo Chemical says pyriproxyfen
poses minimal risk to birds, fish and mammals.
However, the evidence is overwhelming. The Washington Post reported in
January that after experts examined 732 cases out of 4,180 Zika-related
microcephaly, more than half were not related to Zika at all. Only 270 cases
were confirmed as Zika-linked microcephaly.
On top of all the suspicions, however, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has been careful not to explicitly link Zika to microcephaly.
“Although a causal link between Zika infection in pregnancy
and microcephaly — and I must emphasize — has not been established, the
circumstantial evidence is suggestive and extremely worrisome,” said WHO
General Director Margaret Chan.
In the meantime, scientists are currently racing toward
developing a vaccine for
the mosquito-borne infection.
While there is no solid proof yet that the larvicide causes
microcephaly, the local government of Grande do Sul in the southern portion of
Brazil suspended the
use of the chemical larvicide pyriproxyfen.
A
Monsanto representative reached out to Tech Times to clarify that the company
does not sell or manufacture pyriproxyfen.
“Neither
Monsanto nor our products have any connection to the Zika virus or
microcephaly. Monsanto does not manufacture or sell Pyriproxyfen. And, Monsanto
does not own Sumitomo Chemical Company. It is, however, a business
partner like others in the area of crop protection,” the representative said.
Pyriproxyfen manufacturer Sumitomo Chemical also released a
statement to reassure that its product is safe for use.
“Pyriproxyfen, after going through extensive toxicological
testing, has shown no effects on the reproductive system or nervous system in
mammals, and has been approved and registered for use in the past 20 years by
the authorities of around 40 countries around the world,” Sumitomo said.
“…despite long term and widespread use in many different settings no
correlation with microcephaly has been reported.”
The
original source of this article is Tech
Times
Copyright ©
Alyssa Navarro,
Tech
Times, 2016
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