HEALTH ALERT PHILLY!
(also see Vaccines)

THE "ZIKA" FRAUD

Dr. Mercola's comprehensive articles:

Zika virus is being blamed for increasing rates of microcephaly in Brazil, a condition in which babies are born with unusually small heads

Of the more than 4780 reported cases, only 404 infants have been confirmed as having microcephaly, and only 17 tested positive for Zika virus

Far more likely culprits contributing to microcephaly increases among infants born in Brazil are lack of sanitation, widespread vitamin A and zinc deficiency, environmental pollution, toxic pesticide exposures, and Tdap vaccination now mandated for all pregnant women in Brazil. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/16/zika-virus.aspx

• Sep 14, 2016: Zika Spraying Enriches Chemical Companies While Endangering Public Health http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/09/14/zika-virus-aerial-spraying.aspx

• July 5, 2016: Zika Makes It Rain Pesticides With Your Taxpayer Money - A new bill that pledges $1.1 billion to fight Zika virus includes a rider that makes it possible to spray pesticides over waterways without a permit. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/07/05/zika-virus-bill.aspx

• June 7, 2016: Experts Admit Zika Threat Fraud - Top experts admit the risk of Zika virus becoming widespread and regularly transmitted in the U.S. is "near zero." http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/06/07/zika-virus-threat.aspx  

• May 31, 2016: How the Zika Industry Was Born - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/05/31/zika-industry.aspx

• March 1, 2016: Gates' Predictable Plan Is Coming True - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/03/01/zika-virus-gates-foundation.aspx

• February 16, 2016: Propaganda Machine Takes Aim at Zika Virus - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/16/zika-virus.aspx

LATEST NEWS: 

Jul 22, 2020: Florida Keys Delays Vote on Release of 750 Million Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes after Public Outcry - https://www.globalresearch.ca/florida-keys-delays-vote-release-750-million-genetically-engineered-mosquitoes/5719267

Floridians AGAINST spraying of NALED http://www.thepetitionsite.com/630/738/913/floridians-against-spraying-of-naled/?taf_id=28774804

ZIKA Pesticide NALED Linked to 60% Increase in Autism: http://www.healthnutnews.com/zika-pesticide-linked-60-increase-autism-yet-sprayed-big-cities-everywhere/

Naled degrades to dichlorvos, a toxic chemical, in the presence of sunlight, and according to the EU scientific commission, this can cause genetic mutations.
As a result, the EU has banned agricultural use of products containing naled. http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/08/health/florida-zika-spraying-concerns/index.html 

Staged Zika pandemic was engineered to justify the aerial bombardment of toxic chemicals    http://www.naturalnews.com/054870_Zika_pandemic_aerial_spraying_globalist_agenda.html#ixzz4Jrnkpjpg

Puerto Rico REJECTS Insecticide NALED to Fight Zika: http://www.startribune.com/puerto-rico-rejects-insecticide-to-fight-zika-amid-protests/387952602/
DDT Spraying and Polio: Government-sponsored pesticide & vaccine programs have long been associated with increasing a wide range of health problems including death:  DDT use was strongly association with the polio epidemic, while today's "polio vaccines" are associated with spreading polio. http://www.healthalertphilly.org/PolioPesticides&Vaccines.htm 

Aug 2, 2016: "Brazil now has doubts that Zika alone causes birth defects": http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-08-02/brazil-now-has-doubts-zika-alone-causes-birth-defects

June 24, 2016: "New doubts on Zika as cause of microcephaly" by New England Complex Systems Institute. 

Feb 1, 2016: Tdap Vaccinations (Boostrix) for All Pregnant Women in Brazil Mandated in Late 2014  http://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2016/02/tdap-vaccinations-for-all-pregnant-women-in-brazil-mandated-in-late-2014/

Compilations of articles by various authors:  https://geopolitics.co/2016/01/30/whos-behind-the-zika-virus-outbreak-fearmongering/

      The ZIKA Files: Great video on DEET's damage to the brain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta38Ax4jfZQ

Help Stop the Toxic Spraying of Miami!  Contact:
 

Carlos Gimιnez, Mayor of Miami-Dade County mayor@miamidade.gov 
Tomαs Pedro Regalado, Mayor of Miami tregalado@miamigov.com 
Governor of Florida http://www.flgov.com/contact-gov-scott/email-the-governor
and spread the work online / Facebook / etc!

SUMMARY:
 

Pesticides, Vaccines, & GE Mosquitoes - All Possible Causes of Microcephaly

Once again, the CDC, FDA, and EPA are waging a fear campaign to promote an assortment of toxic "solutions" - which are linked to the very condition they claim to prevent. Today it is the ZIKA virus.  In the past it was West Nile, SARS, Swine Flu, and a wide range of vaccine-related illnesses and birth defects. http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/the-sars-epidemic-are-viruses-taking-the-rap-for-industrial-poisons/  Most notably, DDT use was strongly association with the polio epidemic, while today's "polio vaccines" are also associated with a polio & paralysis. See Polio, Pesticides, & Vaccines

Zika alone cannot be the cause of microcephaly in infants, but vaccines, pesticides, and GE mosquitoes could.  In a recent study of nearly 12,000 pregnant women in Colombia infected with Zika, researchers found "ZERO" microcephaly cases. According to an article by the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI). "Brazil's microcephaly epidemic continues to pose a mystery -- if Zika is the culprit, why are there no similar epidemics in other countries also hit hard by the virus?"  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160624150813.htm  

According to researchers, microcephaly is 40 times more common in the U.S. than it is in Brazil, and Zika is "not" the cause of microcephaly in the U.S.,

https://healthimpactnews.com/2016/zika-a-real-threat-or-another-hoax-to-promote-medical-tyranny/

The CDC admits that microcephaly can be caused by conditions which strongly point to pesticides and vaccines: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/microcephaly.html

• Exposure to harmful substances, such as alcohol, certain drugs, or toxic chemicals
• Interruption of the blood supply to the baby’s brain during development
• Certain infections during pregnancy, such as rubella, toxoplasmosis, or cytomegalovirus
• Severe malnutrition, meaning a lack of nutrients or not getting enough food

What could be the cause of the outbreak in Brazil?  There are three very likely possibilities, probably working in combination: vaccines, pesticides, and GE mosquitoes. 

GE MOSQUITOES: "What if Oxitec, the manufacturer of genetically modified mosquitoes, and Bill Gates, who provided Oxitec with grants for GE mosquito development, want to avoid anyone realizing that it was their release of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitos in Brazil that caused the microcephaly?  The genetically modified mosquitoes were developed and released to reduce the population of local mosquitoes that carry the virus that causes dengue fever. (This mosquito also carries the Yellow Fever virus and the Zika virus - http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/.)  Is it coincidence that the area where the mosquitoes were released in July of 2015 is also the area where the largest number of microcephaly cases was reported in the last quarter of that same year?"https://healthimpactnews.com/2016/zika-a-real-threat-or-another-hoax-to-promote-medical-tyranny/  

Oxitec is the same company that wants to release their mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-release-in-the-florida-keys

Why did the FDA approve the use of the very same GE mosquitos associated with the outbreak of microcephaly in Brazil? http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/05/health/fda-approve-gmo-mosquito-zika-florida/

VACCINES:  The Tdap Vaccine (Boostrix) was mandated for all pregnant women in Brazil in late 2014 - http://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2016/02/tdap-vaccinations-for-all-pregnant-women-in-brazil-mandated-in-late-2014/.  A review of the following package insert certainly points to side effects that could be linked to conditions such as microcephaly as their ingredients include neurotoxins -https://www.gsksource.com/pharma/content/dam/GlaxoSmithKline/US/en/Prescribing_Information/Boostrix/pdf/BOOSTRIX.PDF.

According to GSK, neither the safety nor effectiveness of Boostrix have been established in pregnant women.  The package insert for Boostrix reads, "There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, BOOSTRIX should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed."  Clearly, those warnings were not heeded by health officials in Brazil.

The CDC even recommends to women who want to become pregnant to get the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine before pregnancy, but note that the CDC also lists "rubella" as a cause of microcephaly.  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pregnancy/pregnant-women/index.html  http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cmv/basics/causes/con-20029514

Why is the CDC continuing to promote the use of vaccines before and during pregnancy - all of which contain serious health hazards and neurotoxins and some of whose ingredients, specifically rubella, are linked to microcephaly?

PESTICIDES:  NECSI points to the pesticide pyriproxyfen, "One possibility that has been raised is the pesticide pyriproxyfen, which is applied to drinking water in some parts of Brazil to kill the larvae of the mosquitos that transmit Zika. Pyriproxyfen is an analogue for insect juvenile hormone which is cross reactive with retinoic acid, which is known to cause microcephaly. A physicians group in Brazil and Argentina, the Swedish Toxicology Sciences Research Center, and NECSI have called for further studies of the potential link between pyriproxyfen and microcephaly."

Why is the CDC recommending the aerial spraying of toxic pesticides in general, and a similar toxic regime for pregnant women specifically, that includes the use of pesticides on their skin and around their homes, businesses, and neighborhoods, many of which include serious neurotoxins and some of which include pyriproxyfen specifically?http://www.cdc.gov/zika/about/overview.html

Our federal health agencies continue to promote toxic remedies that cause the very condition these agencies claim they are trying to prevent. As with mammograms, whose radiation can cause breast cancer as well as detect it, by the time the truth emerges (often decades later), plenty of time has passed for the pharmaceutical and pesticide industries to make millions, if not billions of dollars.  And the federal government stands to benefit financially, as well - https://www.wellbeingjournal.com/profits-not-science-motivate-vaccine-mandates/.  It is a continuing conflict-of-interest and apparent criminal conspiracy that goes unreported by the mainstream media and unchallenged by Congress. Meanwhile, parents and their children are suffering the catastrophic health consequences of it all.

Lynn Landes, co-founder
www.HealthAlertPhilly.org

GE mosquitoes:

• https://healthimpactnews.com/2016/zika-a-real-threat-or-another-hoax-to-promote-medical-tyranny/

• http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a22209/genetically-modified-mosquitos-fight-zika-florida/

• http://www.naturalnews.com/052824_Zika_virus_genetically_engineered_mosquitoes_unintended_consequences.html

• https://geopolitics.co/2016/01/30/whos-behind-the-zika-virus-outbreak-fearmongering/

Zika Makes It Rain Pesticides With Your Taxpayer Money http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/07/05/zika-virus-bill.aspx

July 05, 2016 

By Dr. Mercola

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $622 million to fight Zika virus, which some believe may be associated with suspected cases of the birth defect microcephaly. That money was intended to get U.S. health agencies through the end of September.¹ Now the House has passed a $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, which still falls short of the $1.9 billion the White House had called for. Of the hefty sum, $230 million would go to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help with vaccine development. Another $476 million would go to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for mosquito control and “readiness and response activities,” while $85 million would go to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development of rapid diagnostic tests, STAT News reported.² The money would be further divided among the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which would get $175 million for mosquito control. The bill, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, has been heavily criticized not only because of spending cuts being used for the bill’s funding, but also because it contains a number of additional controversial policy changes.

Zika Bill Paves the Way for Unchecked Pesticide Spraying

A Clean Water Act permit is generally required to spray pesticides in areas where they might end up in water. The permit is intended to keep the toxic chemicals from contaminating water, but now the Zika virus has been used as an excuse to do away with this common-sense precaution. A rider inserted into the bill would allow pesticides to be sprayed over ditches, streams and other waterways protected by the Clean Water Act for a period of 180 days, with no permit required whatsoever.³ Critics argued the bill would do little to help fight Zika virus, since mosquito control agencies already have authority to apply pesticides in emergency situations to prevent the spread of infectious disease without applying for permits. Opponents say the bill has nothing to do with combating Zika and, instead, has been on the table for years, with the majority pushing for its passage “under whatever name” was convenient at the time.⁴ Politico reported, “ … opponents … point out that the country’s waterways are heavily burdened by pesticide runoff, and say the permitting regime doesn’t impede necessary mosquito control.”⁵

Military Personnel Likely to Be First Guinea Pigs for Zika Vaccine

Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) in Silver Spring, Maryland are racing to develop a Zika vaccine that may soon become one more shot that military personnel are required to receive. At the Institute’s Pilot Bioproduction Facility (PBF), researchers are growing Zika virus in monkey liver cells, then inactivating the virus, isolating the particles and injecting them into animals to study the resulting immune response.⁶ After the results are published, they’ll move on to testing in primates and then to human “guinea pigs” as early as this fall. While it’s fairly common knowledge that military personnel are often subjected to experimental vaccines, many are not aware that the military is actively involved in vaccine development. But as WIRED noted:⁷ “Today, the military maintains one of the biggest, smartest and most robust communicable disease-fighting labs in the country. Before Zika came along, there was Japanese encephalitis, dengue, chikungunya and West Nile.”

Demand for Abortions Rises in Latin America

An unintended consequence of the Zika virus has been a significant increase in abortions in Latin American countries, where abortion is generally illegal or highly restricted. The trend began after a November 2015 warning by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which alerted Latin America that Zika virus may be linked to birth defects including microcephaly and other brain abnormalities, and vision and hearing defects. In turn, some countries took the unprecedented step of warning women to avoid pregnancy, which, as noted by a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), left women with few options.⁸ Researchers from the University of Cambridge looked into rates of abortion requests through Women on Web (WoW), which is a nonprofit group that provides access to abortion medications, and found significant increases now compared to five years before the PAHO warning. Countries that advised women to avoid getting pregnant had the greatest rise in abortion demand. In both Brazil and Ecuador, the number of such requests rose by 108 percent, followed by a 93 percent rise in Venezuela and a 76 percent increase in Honduras. Colombia had a 39 percent increase while Costa Rica and El Salvador saw rises of 36 percent. Not all of these increases were among women who had contracted Zika; many were among women who simply feared they might, the researchers noted. They also believe their numbers underestimate the true demand for abortions, as they only assessed requests through WoW; many other women may have sought abortions via other underground methods.

Is Zika Really a Public Health Emergency?

Perhaps the most controversial of all is whether or not Zika virus is the health emergency it’s being portrayed as. It's possible Zika-carrying mosquitoes could be involved in suspected cases of microcephaly, but there are other factors that should be considered as well. For starters, the outbreak occurred in a largely poverty-stricken agricultural area of Brazil that uses large amounts of banned pesticides. Between these factors and the lack of sanitation and widespread vitamin A and zinc deficiency, you already have the basic framework for an increase in poor health outcomes among newborn infants in that area. Environmental pollution and toxic pesticide exposure have been positively linked to a wide array of adverse health effects, including birth defects. For instance:

·        Vitamin A deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of microcephaly

·        The CDC lists malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals as known risk factors

·        The CDC also notes certain infections during pregnancy, including rubella, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis and others, are risk factors

Mosquito Experts Say Zika Is Unlikely to Become Established in the U.S. 

The U.S. is in the midst of launching a $1.1 billion fight against Zika virus — even though in the states, no local mosquito-borne Zika virus disease cases have been reported.⁹ Yet fear levels are high and rising, perhaps far out of proportion with the actual risk. Even mosquito experts are questioning the extent of emergency that actually exists. Chris Barker, Ph.D., a mosquito-borne virus researcher at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told WebMD:¹⁰ "I think the risk for Zika actually setting up transmission cycles that become established in the continental U.S. is near zero.” Barker expects Zika to go the way of other tropical diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue fever and chikungunya, in the U.S. with perhaps small clusters of outbreaks in southern states and little activity elsewhere. The rising panic of Zika is reminiscent of many past diseases that failed to cause the devastation health officials warned of. Remember SARS, bird flu, swine flu andEbola? Or even the measles “outbreak” in 2015? There was widespread fear, outrage and panic that the disease would sweep across the U.S., affecting populations from border to border. Calls for experimental drugs and vaccines were made and millions, if not billions, of dollars were spent. And for what? In most cases, the diseases fizzled out on their own, exacting a far less sensational health toll than the media and, often, the government had you believe.

If You’re Worried About Mosquitoes, Here’s How to Repel Them Naturally We’re in the midst of prime mosquito season for much of the U.S. Typically, mosquito season is viewed as more of an itchy nuisance than a health threat, but that has changed somewhat this year, at least perceptually since Zika virus’ connection to birth defects is still being explored. If, however, mosquitoes are bothersome for you, there are some steps you can take to encourage them to live elsewhere without dousing yourself or your backyard with pesticides. Draining standing water, including pet bowls, gutters, garbage and recycling bins, spare tires, bird baths, children’s toys and so on, is important. This is where mosquitoes breed, so if you eliminate standing water, you’ll eliminate many mosquitoes. Planting marigolds around your yard also works as a bug repellent because the flowers give off a fragrance that bugs do not like. This is a great way to ward off mosquitoes without using chemical insecticides. A simple house fan could also help keep mosquitoes at bay if you’re having a get-together in your backyard or, for a longer-term solution, try installing a bat house (bats are voracious consumers of insects, especially mosquitoes).

It’s best to avoid using bug zappers in your yard, as these may actually attract more mosquitoes while killing beneficial insects. Insect foggers designed to clear insects out of your backyard should also be avoided, as they require the use of strong, potentially harmful, pesticides and don’t offer lasting protection. Even those clip-on repellents and fans that are widely sold are best avoided, as they contain even more toxic ingredients than repellents that can be applied to your skin, and they pose an inhalation hazard.¹¹ Some experts also recommend supplementing with one vitamin B1 tablet a day from April through October, and then adding 100 milligrams of B1 to a B100 Complex daily during the mosquito season to make you less attractive to mosquitoes. Regularly consuming garlic may also help protect against mosquito bites, as may the following natural insect repellents:
 

·        Cinnamon leaf oil (one study found it was more effective at killing mosquitoes than DEET¹²)

·        Clear liquid vanilla extract mixed with olive oil

·        Wash with citronella soap, and then put some 100 percent pure citronella essential oil on your skin. Java Citronella is considered the highest quality citronella on the market

·        Catnip oil (according to one study, this oil is 10 times more effective than DEET13)

 

[+] Sources and References

Experts Admit Zika Threat Fraud http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/06/07/zika-virus-threat.aspx  

June 07, 2016 

By Dr. Mercola

We’re in the midst of prime mosquito season for much of the U.S. While the exact beginning and end of mosquito season are debatable, The Washington Post recently used Google search data to pinpoint the shape of mosquito season in the U.S.¹ Presumably, Google searchers for mosquitoes increase as mosquitoes ramp up their activity in any given area. Using this premise, The Washington Post found that mosquito searchers shoot up in May and increase steadily through July, then drop off throughout the coming fall and winter months. In the U.S., mosquito season is viewed as more of an itchy nuisance than a health threat, but that has changed somewhat this year, at least perceptually. Fears of Zika virus, which some believe may be associated with suspected cases of the birth defect microcephaly, started in Brazil and have quickly spread throughout the U.S. But are such fears warranted?

Experts Admit Zika Threat Risk ‘Near Zero’

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $622 million to fight Zika virus. Yet, by White House estimates, this is "woefully inadequate." They've recommended directing $1.9 billion to fight this latest declared public health emergency But mosquito experts are questioning the extent of emergency that actually exists. Chris Barker, Ph.D. a mosquito-borne virus researcher at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told WebMD:² "I think the risk for Zika actually setting up transmission cycles that become established in the continental U.S. is near zero.”

Barker expects Zika to go the way of other tropical diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue fever and chikungunya, in the U.S. with perhaps small clusters of outbreaks in southern states and little activity elsewhere. Even in the Florida Keys (Florida, along with Louisiana and Texas, is said to be one of the states most at risk of mosquito-borne illnesses), the Monroe County Tourist Development Council reported:³ “Dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika viruses are currently not a health threat in the Florida Keys including Key West …There has never been a report of a locally acquired case of chikungunya or Zika anywhere in the Florida Keys, according to officials at the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County.”

No Locally Transmitted Cases of Zika Virus Reported in U.S.

As of May 25, 2016, Zika has not been spread by mosquitoes anywhere in the continental U.S.⁴ Calls to control the Aedes mosquitoes, which may carry Zika, have increased nonetheless, including in New York state, where experts say the risk of local transmission is low. Laura Harrington, Ph.D., chair of Entomology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York told WebMD:⁵ "Here in New York state, there's been a lot of pressure placed on mosquito-control districts to do as much as they can. And, they're really strapped for resources, and there's not a huge risk of transmission … ” Maps released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show it’s possible for Aedes mosquitoes to travel as far north as New York, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri and California. According to Harrington, the maps are inaccurate and causing unnecessary hysteria. Harrington continued:⁶ "They're showing this mosquito in places where there's no way you're going to find them … It's really unfortunate, because it's causing a lot of hysteria in places where people should be focusing on other health issues, like Lyme disease."

GE Mosquitoes to Fight Zika Virus?

Biotech company Oxitec has created genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes that carry a “genetic kill switch.” When they mate with wild female mosquitoes, their offspring inherit the lethal gene and cannot survive.⁷To achieve this feat, Oxitec has inserted protein fragments from the herpes virus, E. coli bacteria, coral and cabbage into the insects. The GE mosquitoes have proven lethal to native mosquito populations.In the Cayman Islands, for instance, 96 percent of native mosquitoes were suppressed after more than 3 million GE mosquitoes were released in the area, with similar results reported in Brazil.⁸

Oxitec is seeking to release the GE mosquitoes in the U.S. to fight Zika, but as pointed out by Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to USA Today, the GE mosquitoes have not been shown to reduce rates of diseases such as Zika.⁹  The GE mosquitoes may also prove to be too expensive for areas that are plagued with mosquito-borne diseases. Environmental red flags have also been raised. The potential exists for these foreign genes, which hop from one place to another, to infect human blood by finding entry through skin lesions or inhaled dust. Such transmission could potentially wreak havoc with the human genome by creating "insertion mutations" and other unpredictable types of DNA damage.¹⁰ And according to Todd Shelly, an entomologist for the Agriculture Department in Hawaii, 3.5 percent of the GE insects in a laboratory test survived to adulthood despite presumably carrying the lethal gene.¹¹ It’s important to remember, too, that Oxitec wants emergency approval based on the supposed threat of a disease that has yet to have even one locally transmitted case.

Biotech Company Calls for ‘Emergency Approval’ of Controversial GE Mosquitoes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed with an environmental assessment submitted by Oxitec¹² and stated that GE mosquitoes will not have a significant impact on the environment. Technically, this is referred to as a “finding of no significant impact” (FONSI).¹³ The FDA’s report is only preliminary, but Oxitec wants the FDA to throw caution to the wind and give the GE mosquitoes emergency approval in order to fight the Zika virus. If approved, Oxitec, in partnership with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD), plans to release the GE mosquitoes, which go by the name of OX513A, in Key Haven, Florida, an island of the Florida Keys located about 1 mile east of Key West. More than 270,000 people have submitted comments criticizing the FDA’s environmental assessment, and numerous environmental groups are calling for the agency to conduct a more thorough review of the GE mosquitoes’ risks. Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said:14 “The FDA really missed the mark on this one … The agency seems so eager to speed the process along that they have failed to do a real review of the potential risks, and are ignoring widespread concern in the community where the release will happen.”

No Permits Required to Spray Near Water

A Clean Water Act permit is generally required to spray pesticides in areas where they might end up in water. The permit is intended to keep the toxic chemicals from contaminating water, but now the Zika virus has been used as an excuse to do away with this common-sense precaution. The language was inserted into the Zika Vector Control Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives. It would exempt pesticide applicators from needing a Clean Water Act permit, even when spraying near water. Critics argued the bill would do little to help fight Zika virus, since mosquito-control agencies already have authority to apply pesticides in emergency situations to prevent the spread of infectious disease without applying for permits. Opponents say the bill has nothing to do with combatting Zika and, instead has been on the table for years, with the majority pushing for its passage “under whatever name” was convenient at the time.15

Aerial Mosquito Spraying Linked to Increased Risk of Autism

Greed is pushing for a number of potentially dangerous “solutions” to combat mosquitoes and related diseases. By removing requirements for permits when spraying pesticides near water, it’s likely the use of these chemicals will skyrocket, including via aerial spraying. Unfortunately, many may suffer as a result. In research presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2016 Meeting, aerial pesticide exposure was linked to an increased risk of developmental delays and autism spectrum disorder among children.16 The study compared children living in zip codes where aerial pesticide spraying was used each summer to combat mosquitoes that carry the eastern equine encephalitis virus, with children living in non-aerial-spraying zip codes. Children exposed to the aerial pesticide spraying were about 25 percent more likely to be diagnosed with autism or have a documented developmental delay than those living in areas that used other methods of pesticide application (such as manual spreading of granules). If authorities use the supposed threat of Zika to increase aerial spraying, it could increase children’s risk of brain disorders, which is the opposite of what anti-Zika campaigns are supposed to achieve.

Are There Other Potential Explanations for an Increase in Microcephaly?

It's possible Zika-carrying mosquitoes could be involved in suspected cases of microcephaly, but there are other factors that should be considered as well. For starters, the outbreak occurred in a largely poverty-stricken agricultural area of Brazil that uses large amounts of banned pesticides. Between these factors and the lack of sanitation and widespread vitamin A and zinc deficiency, you already have the basic framework for an increase in poor health outcomes among newborn infants in that area. Environmental pollution and toxic pesticide exposure have been positively linked to a wide array of adverse health effects, including birth defects. For instance:

·        Vitamin A deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of microcephaly

·        The CDC lists malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals as known risk factors

·        The CDC also notes certain infections during pregnancy, including rubella, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, and others are risk factors

Natural Ways to Repel Mosquitoes

Many experts agree that the threat of an epidemic outbreak of Zika virus on continental U.S. soil is virtually nonexistent. So you needn’t go dousing your backyard in chemicals in an attempt to stay safe from the Zika virus (whose connection to birth defects is still being explored). If however, mosquitoes are bothersome for you, there are some steps you can take to encourage them to live elsewhere. Draining standing water, including pet bowls, gutters, garbage and recycling bins, spare tires, bird baths, children’s toys and so on, is important. This is where mosquitoes breed, so if you eliminate standing water you’ll eliminate many mosquitoes. Planting marigolds around your yard also works as a bug repellent because the flowers give off a fragrance that bugs do not like. This is a great way to ward off mosquitoes without using chemical insecticides. A simple house fan could also help keep mosquitoes at bay if you’re having a get-together in your backyard or, for a longer-term solution, try installing a bat house (bats are voracious consumers of insects, especially mosquitoes). It’s best to avoid using bug zappers in your yard, as these may actually attract more mosquitoes while killing beneficial insects. Insect foggers designed to clear insects out of your backyard should also be avoided, as they require the use of strong, potentially harmful, pesticides and don’t offer lasting protection. Even those clip-on repellents and fans that are widely sold are best avoided, as they contain even more toxic ingredients than repellents that can be applied to your skin, and they pose an inhalation hazard.17 Some experts also recommend supplementing with one vitamin B1 tablet a day from April through October, and then adding 100 mg of B1 to a B-100 Complex daily during the mosquito season to make you less attractive to mosquitoes. Regularly consuming garlic may also help protect against mosquito bites, as may the following natural insect repellants:

·        Cinnamon leaf oil (one study found it was more effective at killing mosquitoes than DEET18)

·        Clear liquid vanilla extract mixed with olive oil

·        Wash with citronella soap, and then put some 100 percent pure citronella essential oil on your skin. Java citronella is considered the highest quality citronella on the market

·        Catnip oil (according to one study, this oil is 10 times more effective than DEET19)

[+] Sources and References

How the Zika Industry Was Born

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/05/31/zika-industry.aspx

May 31, 2016 

By Dr. Mercola

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $622 million to fight the Zika virus. Yet, by White House estimates, this is "woefully inadequate." They've recommended directing $1.9 billion to fight this latest declared public health emergency.1 I use the term emergency loosely here, as we've seen these types of overzealous responses before. First, a new threat is revealed. Remember SARS, bird flu, swine flu and Ebola? Or even the measles "outbreak" in 2015? There was widespread fear, outrage and panic that the disease would sweep across the U.S., affecting populations from border to border. Calls for experimental drugs and vaccines were made and millions, if not billions, of dollars were spent. And for what? In most cases, the diseases fizzled out on their own, exacting a far less sensational health toll than the media and, often, the government had you believe. In the case of swine flu, for example, the U.S. government ordered 20 million doses of the drug Tamiflu — costing $2 billion — to fight the pandemic that never was. That drug has a shelf life of three years. Money well spent? Now they're proposing another $1.9 billion to fight Zika — is this a case of history repeating itself?

Zika Virus: From Obscure Mild Illness to Booming Industry Virtually Overnight

Last year at this time, you probably had never heard of Zika virus. And if you had, you probably wouldn't have given it a second thought. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Most people infected with Zika virus won't even know they have the disease because they won't have symptoms."2 Then the headlines started. Cases of microcephaly, in which babies are born with unusually small heads, in Brazil were said to have surged from an average of about 150 suspected cases of microcephaly annually to more than 4,780 suspected cases from October 2015 to February 2016. Although there does not appear to be any evidence prior to 2016 suggesting Zika virus might cause birth defects, the rise in microcephaly was blamed on Zika-carrying mosquitoes. The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, presumably, have been in Brazil all along — so why is the sudden increase in suspected cases of microcephaly being blamed on that mosquito?

This is but one questionable factor in the Zika virus scare. At this point, Zika virus might be associated with birth defects, but causation has not been definitively proven. In the U.S., for instance, there are about 25,000 infants born with microcephaly every year. The U.S. is not considered to be a region where Zika virus is endemic and, according to the journal Neurology:3 "Microcephaly may result from any insult that disturbs early brain growth and can be seen in association with hundreds of genetic syndromes." It may be too soon to rule out Zika virus as a contributing cause, but it's also too soon to declare it a public health emergency and pull out all the stops to wage a very expensive war against it.

The Zika Industry Is Born

Whenever a new health emergency is announced, look to see who stands to profit from its creation. In this case, many players have come out of the woodwork, hoping to get a piece of the (potentially $1.9 billion!) Zika cash cow. The World Health Organization (WHO) has pledged to gather another $56 million to combat Zika. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen also announced two Zika grants totaling more than $2 million, which are going to the American Red Cross to support mosquito-control efforts and education in Brazil and to Chembio Diagnostics Systems, Inc., which is planning to develop rapid tests to diagnose Zika.4 As reported by The Vaccine Reaction:5 "It seems everybody wants in on the action. It is exciting to be one of the early pioneers in a brand new industry with lots of growth potential, particularly when it has such strong government support and when the prospects for mandated use of the vaccines are so promising … for the industry, that is. There is already talk about Zika being with us forever and becoming one of those things against which we will routinely vaccinate."

Race to Develop Zika Vaccine Prompts Guillain–Barrι Syndrome Concerns

At least 18 companies are racing to develop a vaccine against Zika, but one expert on vaccines combating mosquito-borne diseases, Dr. Thomas Monath, has expressed major concerns. Guillain-Barrι syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune disease that can cause paralysis. Cases of GBS have been rising in areas reporting Zika outbreaks, and there is some evidence that Zika might be triggering GBS. The concern is, then, that exposure to Zika virus in a vaccine could trigger GBS as well, even if it's a killed or inactivated form of virus. GBS is already a known vaccine reaction. It's in the process of being added to the official Vaccine Injury Table. (In order to win uncontested federal compensation for a vaccine injury, a person must prove he or she developed certain clinical symptoms and medical conditions on the table within a certain time frame of receiving a certain vaccine and that there is no more biologically plausible explanation for the vaccine-related injury or death.) Research published in The Lancet journal suggested exposure to Zika virus may exacerbate the threat of GBS by 20-fold.6^,7

The CDC Is No Longer Credible

" … Practically everyone in the world knows about Zika and believes that the primary cause of babies being born with shrunken heads (microcephaly) and brain damage in Brazil is that their mothers were bitten by the Zika-carrying mosquito while they were pregnant," The Vaccine Reaction reported. "Why does everyone believe that?" they continued.8 "Because public health officials at the U.S. Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) say so. Forget that these federal health agencies have provided no solid scientific evidence of a causal relationship. That's beside the point. It's the CDC and NIH." Yet, time and time again we see evidence that what the CDC says isn't always accurate. In fact, sometimes it's blatantly wrong. According to documents obtained by USA Today, one CDC-run laboratory had its permit suspended due to serious safety violations while working with viruses, bacteria and toxins (such as anthrax, plague and Ebola) that could be used as biological weapons.

CDC labs have been referred for "secret federal enforcement actions" six times because of serious or repeated violations. USA Today had to win access to the records via a Freedom of Information Act appeal. Prior to that, the CDC refused to answer questions about enforcement histories relating to its own labs.9 This isn't the first time the CDC has been involved in safety violations. In 2014, as many as 84 scientists and staff members at a CDC biolab were exposed to live anthrax. The live pathogen had been sent from a higher-security facility. Biosafety protocols were apparently not followed at either of the facilities. This and subsequent errors, involving H5N1 influenza virus and Ebola mix-ups at CDC labs, led to the creation of an external lab safety advisory group. A follow-up report released by the advisory group in March 2015 called the CDC's commitment to safety "inconsistent and insufficient" and also pointed out that "laboratory safety training is inadequate."10 The point is, this is who many Americans are trusting to provide accurate information about circulating viruses and other diseases.

Are There Other Potential Explanations for an Increase in Microcephaly?

 

It's possible Zika-carrying mosquitoes could be involved, but there are other factors that should be considered as well. For starters, the outbreak occurred in a largely poverty-stricken agricultural area of Brazil that uses large amounts of banned pesticides. Between these factors and the lack of sanitation and widespread vitamin A and zinc deficiency, you already have the basic framework for an increase in poor health outcomes among newborn infants in that area. Environmental pollution and toxic pesticide exposure have been positively linked to a wide array of adverse health effects, including birth defects. For instance:

·        Vitamin A deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of microcephaly11

·        The CDC lists malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals as known risk factors12

·        The CDC also notes certain infections during pregnancy, including rubella, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, and others, are risk factors

Why Isn't the Government Targeting Opioid Addiction, Antibiotic-Resistant Disease and Other Proven Epidemics?

Microcephaly is a devastating birth defect and it's important to uncover its underlying cause. However, the U.S. government's plan to pour money into Zika virus research and vaccine development, i.e., to pour money into Big Pharma, for what is now a theoretical connection and certainly not an epidemic by any means, boggles the mind.

Meanwhile, there is no comparable uproar over existing (and pharmaceutical-caused) epidemics, like opioid addiction. The U.S. government seeks "treatment" for the opioid epidemic without addressing irresponsible prescribing and drug industry marketing or high-level financial conflicts of interest.

The government has also long allowed rampant overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics, including in agriculture, which has led to rampant cases of antibiotic-resistant disease.

The government didn't "save us" from any of the other public health emergencies in recent years (swine flu, bird flu and Ebola among them), and it's not likely to change its spots anytime soon. What you can bet on, however, is that the government will continue to support the hand that feeds it. Only time will tell if that support will stop at the House bill's $622 million or keep going up to $1.9 billion.

[+] Sources and References

Gates' Predictable Plan Is Coming True http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/03/01/zika-virus-gates-foundation.aspx

March 01, 2016

By Dr. Mercola

 

Bill and Melinda Gates have been called the world’s greatest philanthropists and the world’s “most generous people.”¹ It’s true that, even with his net worth of $87 billion, Bill Gates’ $28 billion in donations is impressive, as are many of his world health goals — at least on the surface.² If you dig a little deeper into the Gates Foundation’s philanthropy, however, you’ll find questionable alliances and partnerships, such as the one with biotech giant Monsanto, as well as some curious projects, like spending $1 billion on training programs for journalists and research on effective crafting of media messages.³

I have previously stated Bill Gates might be one of the world's most destructive do-gooders. He seems completely oblivious to the fundamental flaws in the science behind genetically engineered (GE) foods, for example. This oblivion apparently extends to the genetic engineering of other living creatures beyond plants, like the use of GE mosquitoes, which is being increasingly accepted due to the latest public health “emergency,” the Zika virus.

Gates Foundation Funded GE-Mosquito Development

 

The Gates Foundation has spent at least $20 million to fund the development of GE mosquitoes designed by a biotech company called Oxitec to stop the spread of chikungunya and dengue, tropical diseases spread by Aedes mosquitoes.⁴ The Oxitec mosquitoes are unlike any that exist in nature. They’ve been genetically altered to carry a “genetic kill switch,” such that when they mate with wild female mosquitoes, their offspring inherits the lethal gene and cannot survive.⁵ To achieve this feat, Oxitec has inserted protein fragments from the herpes virus, E. coli bacteria, coral and cabbage into the insects, dubbed OX513A. The GE mosquitoes have proven lethal to native mosquito populations. In the Cayman Islands, for instance, 96 percent of native mosquitoes were suppressed after more than 3 million GE mosquitoes were released in the area, with similar results reported in Brazil.⁶ The release of GE mosquitoes in the wild has been criticized by many. The potential exists for these genes, which hop from one place to another, to infect human blood by finding entry through skin lesions or inhaled dust. Such transmission could potentially wreak havoc with the human genome by creating "insertion mutations" and other unpredictable types of DNA damage, for starters.⁷

WHO Supports Research on the Use of GE Mosquitoes to Fight Zika

Zika virus, which has made headlines for supposedly increasing rates of microcephaly in Brazil in recent months, is also spread by Aedes mosquitoes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called mosquito control “the most immediate line of defense” against its spread and is encouraging further testing of GE mosquitoes for this purpose.⁸ According to a WHO statement:^9,10 “Given the magnitude of the Zika crisis, WHO encourages affected countries and their partners to boost the use of both old and new approaches to mosquito control as the most immediate line of defense. … For genetically modified mosquitoes, the WHO Advisory Group has recommended further field trials and risk assessment to evaluate the impact of this new tool on disease transmission.” There has been chatter on the Web that the Gates Foundation has been involved in promoting the spread of Zika virus via the development of GE mosquitoes — but the GE mosquitoes cannot promote Zika’s spread (at least not intentionally, as some people have suggested). There remain serious potential problems with their use, however.

Why GE Mosquitoes’ ‘Kill Switch’ May Fail

These GE mosquitoes were designed to die in the absence of tetracycline, which is introduced in the lab in order to keep them alive long enough to breed. They were designed this way assuming they would NOT have access to that drug in the wild. Brazil, however, is the third largest consumer of antibiotics for food and animal production and, according to a 2009 analysis, an estimated 75 percent of the tetracyclines administered to farm animals end up being excreted in waste.¹¹ The use of manure and sewage sludge as fertilizers is a major route of spread of antibiotics in the environment. According to Oxitec documents, in the presence of tetracyclines the survival rate of the GE mosquitoes' offspring may be as high as 15 percent, which means they may not decimate the mosquito population as efficiently as intended.

15 Companies Racing to Develop Zika Vaccine

WHO has reported that at least 15 companies and academic groups are in the process of developing a lucrative Zika vaccine. One of them, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, announced in February 2016 that mice exposed to their Zika vaccine developed antibodies and generated a response from T-cells, which suggest the vaccine may be working. They have plans to test the vaccine in non-human primates and then begin Phase I testing in humans before the end of 2016.¹² Bharat Biotech of India, which somehow got a head start and began working on two Zika vaccines in November 2014, also has plans to start pre-clinical animal trials of its experimental Zika vaccine.^13,14 Sanofi and the U.S. National Institutes of Health are also working on Zika vaccines of their own. WHO estimates it will be at least 18 months before any of the vaccines enter into large-scale clinical trials.¹⁵

Ring Vaccination Suggested for Zika Virus

At the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) annual meeting, held in February 2016, researchers from WHO and the University of Florida shared how their experimental Ebola vaccine trial may be relevant to the so-called Zika outbreak. During the height of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the researchers used a technique known as “ring vaccination,” which was first used in the 1970s during smallpox outbreaks. It involves vaccinating populations in “rings” around those who are already diagnosed.So in the case of Ebola, close neighbors and family members of victims were vaccinated first, followed by wider “rings” of the community 21 days later. The study found the technique to be “100 percent” effective in preventing Ebola when used via the ring vaccination strategy.¹⁶ At the AAAS meeting, the researchers discussed that the strategy would also be useful for testing the experimental Zika vaccine, if and when one becomes available. Study researcher Ira Longini, Ph.D. a statistician at the University of Florida, told Popular Science, “This approach should work for Zika vaccine if we have one, and I think we will need one.”¹⁷ But comparing Zika virus to Ebola is not comparing apples to apples. For starters, Zika virus is harder to transmit than Ebola, and it’s far from deadly; in most people, it causes no symptoms and when it does cause symptoms, it’s typically mild fever and rash. The major concern is for pregnant women, among whom the virus has been linked to microcephaly in babies. But vaccinating pregnant women at all is controversial, as is whether or not the Zika virus is to blame for microcephaly at all.

Gates Foundation Linked to Zika Vaccine Makers

If you’re wondering what all of this has to do with Bill Gates, his foundation has close ties with Zika vaccine makers. Bharat Biotech, for instance, received $50 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to research and conduct human trials on a malaria vaccine.¹⁸ Merck, Syngenta and Bayer are also partners in the Gates Foundation, as are chemical giants Monsanto and DuPont.¹⁹ This unholy alliance is just one of the reasons why I don't trust Bill Gates' philanthropy; he might be one of the most dangerous individual powers on the planet.20 Interestingly, in the summer of 2015, Dr. Kathryn Edwards, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, received a $307,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the immune responses of pregnant women receiving the pertussis-containing Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine. In October 2014, the Brazilian government mandated that all pregnant women must receive the Tdap vaccine, effective as of 2015. The fact that birth defects began rising in Brazil toward the end of 2015 seems more suspicious in light of this mandate than the possibility that Zika infection is solely responsible. This is especially true when you consider that pertussis vaccine has previously been linked to brain inflammation and brain damage in infants, and the safety of administering Tdap to pregnant women has never been proven.

Global Health Emergency Declared

WHO declared the Zika virus a global health emergency on February 1, 2016 noting that the "main worry" is the virus' potential link to microcephaly and subsequent brain damage. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging pregnant women to avoid traveling to countries with reported transmissions of the Zika infection — about two dozen countries so far. Meanwhile, even with the increasing releases of GE mosquitoes, increased fogging and spraying for mosquitoes have been recommended even though they're largely ineffective against Aedes aegypti, the species of mosquito in question. These tiny black and white striped mosquitoes do not fly far — their range being a mere 300 to 600 feet. Since it's so difficult to catch them airborne, insecticidal sprays and foggers are mostly useless for controlling them. Also, they feed during the daytime, not at night, which is typically when the fog-trucks will roll through the neighborhood. Groups like the Manhattan Institute are even calling for the return of DDT to address the mosquito problem, despite the fact that DDT passes freely through the placenta during pregnancy where it gains direct access to the developing fetus and its brain.21 Moreover, DDT has also been linked to microcephaly! Of course, the race to develop a Zika vaccine is also on, and it's worth remembering that any pandemic vaccine fast tracked to market in the U.S. during a "public health emergency" is completely shielded from liability for injuries and deaths.

Is Panic Over Zika Virus Warranted?

In Brazil, microcephaly, in which babies are born with unusually small heads, is said to have surged from an average of about 150 cases annually to more than 4,300 cases since October 2015. Of these, fewer than 500 cases have been confirmed, and the Zika virus has only been identified in 41.22 Meanwhile, in the U.S. approximately 25,000 infants are diagnosed with microcephaly each year — without Zika. As I wrote last month, the evidence suggests implicating Zika virus may be a matter of convenience — leaders of the public-private partnership between industry and government may be quickly blaming the rise in microcephaly on disease-carrying mosquitoes in order to sell more GE mosquitoes, to sell more toxic insecticides, and to have an excuse to develop and sell more vaccines.

All the while, they are keeping hidden some of the most likely culprits of microcephaly, namely poor nutrition and toxic environmental exposures like pesticides, as well as vaccines given during pregnancy when the fetus is most susceptible to harm. By throwing up a convenient veil in the form of Zika-infected mosquitoes, business can not only go on as usual but also grow and expand profits to boot.

[+] Sources and References

 

Propaganda Machine Takes Aim at Zika Virus http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/16/zika-virus.aspx

February 16, 2016

By Dr. Mercola

It's that time again — time for the pandemic outbreak propaganda machine to cry "Wolf!" and justify the mass use of vaccines and the necessity for chemical remediation. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared anotherglobal public health emergency.¹ We've seen a string of these over-hyped virus scares over the past six years, from the bird and swine flu to Ebola — all of which died down as suddenly as they emerged, without causing the predicted widespread catastrophic damage in the real world. This year, it's the Zika virus, which is being blamed for a rash of reports of microcephaly^2,3 among infants born in Brazil. The condition, in which babies are born with unusually small heads, is said to have surged from an average of about 150 cases annually to more than 4,780 cases since October 2015.

Microcephaly Cases Vastly Over-Reported

The Brazilian government has already admitted that overly generous parameters resulted in dramatic over-reporting of the rare condition public health officials have associated with the Zika virus, which has been dubbed by the media as the "shrunken head" virus. To be on the safe side, when Zika-affected areas began seeing a rise in microcephaly, the Brazilian government asked health officials to report any case in which a child was born with a head circumference smaller than 33 centimeters. False positives were expected, and when they realized that most of these babies were in fact healthy and normal, the threshold was lowered to 32 centimeters in December. The limit may be lowered even further, to 31.9 centimeters for boys and 31.5 centimeters for girls. As reported by The New York Times:⁴ "Of the cases examined so far, 404 have been confirmed as having microcephaly. Only 17 of them tested positive for the Zika virus... Another 709 babies have been ruled out as having microcephaly ... underscoring the risks of false positives making the epidemic appear larger than it actually is. The remaining 3,670 cases are still being investigated." [Emphasis mine] As noted by The New York Times, there's actually very little scientific evidence tying the Zika virus to this particular condition. Still, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus a global health emergency⁵ on February 1, noting that the "main worry" is the virus' potential link to microcephaly and subsequent brain damage. According to WHO, the Zika virus may have infected as many as 4 million people in the Americas, and public health officials in Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador are reportedly all researching the effects of Zika infection in pregnant women.

Poverty, Pollution, and Vitamin Deficiencies May Affect Microcephaly Rates in Brazil

The Zika virus was initially identified in 1947 in Uganda, where it was originally limited to rhesus monkeys. It's an arbovirus, meaning the disease is transmitted via mosquito, tick or flea bites. According to ATCC,⁶ a "global biological materials resource...organization whose mission focuses on the acquisition, authentication, production, preservation, development, and distribution of standard reference microorganisms," the Zika virus⁷— which they sell for about $500 — causes paralysis and death. In humans, Zika infection typically causes only mild flu-like symptoms, if any, and there does not appear to be any prior evidence suggesting it might cause birth defects. That certainly doesn't exclude the possibility, of course, but there are many other factors and co-factors that offer a far more likely and rational explanation for the rise in microcephaly in this area of Brazil, besides Zika-carrying mosquitoes.For starters, the "outbreak" is occurring in a largely poverty-stricken agricultural area of Brazil that uses large amounts of banned pesticides.^8,9,10 Between these factors and the lack of sanitation and widespread vitamin A and zinc deficiency, you already have the basic framework for an increase in poor health outcomes among newborn infants in that area.¹¹ Environmental pollution^12,13 and toxic pesticide exposure have been positively linked to a wide array of adverse health effects, including birth defects. When you add all these co-factors together, an increase in microcephaly doesn't seem like such a far-fetched outcome.

Vitamin A Deficiency Linked to Microcephaly

Vitamin A and zinc deficiency is considered endemic in Brazil,^14,15,16 and both of these nutritional deficiencies are known to depress immune function.^17,18,19 More importantly, vitamin A deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of microcephaly specifically,^20,21 and zinc is known to play an important role in the structure and function of the brain.²² Even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals as two of the three known risk factors. The third is certain infections during pregnancy, including rubella, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, and others.23 Researchers24 have also noted that microcephaly follows "an apparent autosomal recessive pattern," and may be the result of a recessed gene.

Atrazine Also Implicated in Microcephaly

The pesticide Atrazine also appears to be a viable culprit. According to research25published in 2011, small head circumference was listed as a side effect of prenatal Atrazine exposure.

Atrazine is used to prevent pre- and post-emergence weeds and is the second most commonly used herbicide after Roundup. As noted by Sott.net:26 "The most obvious cause of birth defects in this area is direct contact and absorption of pesticides. A study of pesticide use on tomatoes27 in the Northern State of Pernambuco, Brazil, indicates high exposure to pesticide workers and poor application methods which threaten the ecology of the area. Women washed the pesticide application equipment, generally in the work environment, without protective clothing or without observing the recommended three-fold washing process ... Of the women workers, 32% reported being pregnant more than five times ... Almost three-quarters of the women (71%) reported miscarriages, and 11% reported having mentally and/or physically impaired offspring."

Why Is Brazil Overlooking Teratogenic Larvicide Added to Drinking Water in Affected Area?

A report28^,29 by an Argentine physician's organization called "Physicians in the Crop-Sprayed Towns" also challenges the theory that Zika virus is responsible for the microcephaly cases in Brazil. They note that for the past 18 months, a chemical larvicide that causes malformations in mosquitoes (pyroproxyfen) has been applied to the drinking water in the affected area of Brazil. Pyroproxyfen is manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical, long-term strategic partners of Monsanto, and has been used in a state-controlled program to eradicate mosquitoes. This chemical inhibits growth in mosquito larvae, thereby producing malformations that disable and/or kill the mosquitoes. According to "Physicians in the Crop-Sprayed Towns," it's also an endocrine disruptor and teratogenic, meaning it causes birth defects. The organization also points out that Zika virus has never been associated with birth defects previously, even in areas where 75 percent of the population has been infected. According to the report: "Malformations detected in thousands of children from pregnant women living in areas where the Brazilian state added Pyroproxyfen to drinking water are not a coincidence, even though the Ministry of Health places a direct blame on the Zika virus for this damage."

Aerial Spraying of Neonicotinoids Also Causes Skeletal Malformations

The list of pesticides that have the potential to disrupt fetal development is long. Yet another suspect is Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid. In October 2012—around the same time that these women would have been getting pregnant--Brazil lifted its ban on aerial spraying of neonicotinoids. In30 2001, it was reported that Imidacloprid fed to pregnant rats and rabbits in "maternally toxic" doses caused skeletal malformation in a small percentage of fetuses.31^,32 In December 2013, the U.K. Daily Mail33 also reported that neonicotinoids were suspected of causing developmental problems in babies and children. Another 2013 study34 showed adverse events with embryo development and neonicotinoids. Perhaps it's not any single one of these pesticides that is to blame. Perhaps the rise in microcephaly cases is the result of exposure to a terrible mixture of toxic pesticides before or during pregnancy?

Mandatory Vaccination Program of Pregnant Women Took Effect 2015

Also, in October 2014 the Brazilian government mandated that all pregnant women must receive the pertussis-containing Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine, effective as of 2015.35

The fact that birth defects began rising toward the end of 2015 seems more suspicious in light of this mandate than the possibility that Zika infection is solely responsible — especially when you consider that pertussis vaccine has previously been linked to brain inflammation and brain damage in infants, and the safety of administering Tdap to pregnant women has never been proven.36 In the summer of 2015, Dr. Kathryn Edwards, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, received a $307,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the immune responses of pregnant women receiving Tdap, the vaccine in question.37 Her conclusions remain to be seen. But a number of previous studies have demonstrated that stimulating the immune system of a pregnant woman is a very bad idea. So why mandate Tdap vaccine but not vitamin A and zinc supplementation for pregnant women? Studies showing adverse health effects from maternal immune activation include but are not limited to the following samples:

Are Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Linked to Zika Infection?

Interestingly enough, the Gates Foundation has also financed the development of genetically-engineered (GE) mosquitoes,44designed by a biotech company called Oxitec to combat dengue fever and Zika — a project some suspect may have somehow backfired, resulting in a Zika outbreak instead.45 Considering the fact that the transgenic mosquitoes are designed to kill the offspring before they reach breeding maturity — they're carrying a "suicide" or "self-destruct gene"46 if you will — you may wonder how such mosquitoes could possibly promotethe spread of Zika. Well, they can't. Not intentionally, anyway, which is what some people have suggested. There are some potential problems though. This genetic "kill switch" starts to fail in the presence of the antibiotic tetracycline.47Brazil is the third largest consumer of antibiotics for food and animal production48 and, according to a 2009 analysis,49 an estimated 75 percent of the tetracyclines administered to farm animals end up being excreted in waste. The use of manure and sewage sludge as fertilizers is a major route of spread of antibiotics in the environment. (Little is known about the environmental impact of tetracycline, but Brazilian researchers50 have found alarming situations where the presence of these drugs in drinking water has resulted in bacterial resistance.) According to Oxitec documents,51 in the presence of tetracyclines the survival rate of the GE mosquitoes' offspring may be as high as 15 percent. However, aside from not decimating the mosquito population as efficiently as intended, there's really NO evidence to suggest that these GE mosquitoes are somehow intentional carriers of the Zika virus. That said, while the GE mosquitoes are supposed to be all male, which don't bite, if females either happen to slip through the process, or for some reason survive, there may be a risk that they could transfer their modified DNA to the host. What the ramifications of this might be is unclear.

GE Mosquitoes Claim Success — Yet We Need Harsher Pesticides?

Oxitec released the first batches of transgenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands in September 2009.52 Malaysia releases followed in 2010. In July 2012, the company had set up a large-scale transgenic mosquito farm in Brazil. The GE mosquitoes were released into the wild in Juazeiro, Brazil in the summer of 2015, and shortly thereafter Oxitec announced53they had "successfully controlled the Aedes aegyptimosquito that spreads dengue fever, chikungunya, and zika virus, by reducing the target population by more than 90 percent." Research54 findings published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases claim the sterile breed had reduced the mosquito population in one Brazilian suburb by 95 percent. Despite such claims of successful decimation of the disease-carrying insect, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff recently made an announcement saying: "each federal public official has to transform into a combatant against the mosquito and its reproduction." Thousands of soldiers and state employees have been enlisted to eradicate mosquitoes wherever they may lurk. "We will do everything, absolutely everything in our reach to protect you,"President Rousseff said55 in her speech, addressing all the mothers and future mothers of Brazil — and then she turns around and orders women and children to be fumigated with toxic chemicals! Oh, the tragic irony!

'Health Experts' Call for Return of DDT

Groups like the Manhattan Institute are even calling for the return of DDT56 to address the mosquito problem! This is despite the fact that DDT passes freely through the placenta during pregnancy,57 where it gains direct access to the developing fetus and its brain.58 Studies have linked DDT to high blood pressure, decreased fertility, premature delivery, adult diabetes, and Alzheimer's.59Moreover, DDT has also been linked to microcephaly,60 so using this toxin would definitely not be the answer to the current problem!

As noted by STAT News:61 "The United States banned DDT in 1972 after it was found to persist in the environment for decades, build up in food chains, and kill eagles, pelicans, and other wildlife. But the pesticide was never banned globally. Though the 2001 Stockholm Convention called on countries to eliminate use of DDT and related chemicals, DDT is still used in African and other countries to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes (which, as predicted, evolved widespread resistance to the chemical). A significant concern about DDT is that when a mosquito population evolves resistance to it (as individual insects that harbor DDT-defying mutations leave countless more descendants than vulnerable insects), the creatures also develop resistance to other, safer insecticides...

Epidemiologist Brenda Eskenazi, Ph.D. of the University of California, San Francisco, who led a 2009 study raising concerns about the human health effects of DDT exposure, agreed that DDT might not work in Brazil and other countries where Zika is spreading. 'They should use whatever they can to control the virus,' she said, 'but they have to do it safely.'

According to news photos, 'men in hazmat suits are spraying pesticides around women and children' who have no protective clothing or anything else, she said, 'which is horrible and upsetting.'"

Foggers and Mosquito Sprays Don't Work on This Mosquito

It's astounding how short-sighted many are, but that's what happens when you incite panic — people don't stop to think. In this case, recommendations to use toxic foggers and sprays is bound to do FAR more harm than good, if for no other reason than the fact that they're ineffective against Aedes aegypti, the species of mosquito in question.62

These tiny black and white striped mosquitoes do not fly far — their range being a mere 300 to 600 feet. Since it's so difficult to catch them airborne, insecticidal sprays and foggers are mostly useless for controlling them. Also, they feed during the daytime, not at night, which is typically when the fog-trucks will roll through the neighborhood. As noted by Medicinenet.com:63

"To feed, they have to stick close to their intended targets, a.k.a. us. They live under decks, patio furniture, and in homes that don't have cool air — they don't much like air conditioning. They especially love the drip trays that collect extra water under potted plants ... They 'can breed in incredibly small amounts of water,' says Joe Conlon, spokesman for the American Mosquito Control Association.

'When I was in Suriname, South America, several years ago, I saw them breeding very happily in discarded soda bottle caps,' he says. In New Jersey, researchers at Rutgers University found them breeding in water that had pooled in discarded snack-size potato chip bags. 'These mosquitoes are in people's backyards,' says Dina Fonseca, Ph.D., an entomologist and associate professor at Rutgers. They live in containers, she says, and are 'urban, domestic mosquitoes.'" Other questionable suggestions on the table include using X-rays and/or Gamma rays to sterilize mosquitoes. According to Reuters:64

"Such laboratory-bred male mosquitoes could then be released in the wild to mate with the females of the species who then bear eggs that never hatch, thus reducing the number of insects in a given area without killing any animals or using chemicals."

Emergency Declaration Begins Another Round of Massive Profiteering

U.S. Overreacts Based on Poorly Constructed Fear Porn

Like many other nations, the U.S. has overreacted to the news and is increasing mosquito eradication efforts. According to some models, an estimated 200 million Americans, or over 60 PERCENT of the U.S. population, may become infected with Zika this summer.71 So far, about three dozen cases of Zika virus infection have been confirmed in 11 U.S. states — most of which, according to the report, were thought to have been acquired by people while out of the country. The CDC urges pregnant women to avoid traveling to countries with reported transmissions of the infection — a total of 24 countries so far.72 As noted by Reuters:73 "With no specific federal guideline yet in place to control the spread of the Zika virus in the United States, some mosquito-heavy states like Florida are stepping up spraying and education programs. But, the North and West have yet to boost prevention. Only one out of the more than 30 confirmed cases of Zika in the country appears to have been transmitted locally, in Dallas, Texas. Public health officials are bracing for the time when warmer weather increases the number of mosquitoes that can transmit the virus by biting an infected person and spreading it to others. The types of mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are common in Florida, where mosquito season is year-round, and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, including Houston."

Panama, India, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Florida in the U.S. are also slated to receive Oxitec's "self-destruct" mosquitoes74^,75 and the longer the Zika scare continues, the more likely these little critters will be released in mosquito-ridden areas across the world. Is this wise? Chances are we may be in for some nasty surprises. As noted by Helen Wallace in 2012, a British environmentalist with the organization GeneWatch:76 "This mosquito is Dr. Frankenstein's monster, plain and simple. To open a box and let these man-made creatures fly free is a risk with dangers we haven't even begun to contemplate." We may not like the mosquito, but that doesn't mean it serves no function in the ecosystem. If we successfully eradicate this mosquito, what might the ramifications be ecosystem-wide?

How Does U.S. Explain 25,000 Microcephaly Cases Annually — Without Zika?

 

In the U.S., approximately 25,000 infants are diagnosed with microcephaly each year.77 Brazil has about 70 percent of the population the U.S. has, and now reports just over 400 cases, 17 of which tested positive for the Zika virus. So is this really the global emergency it's being made out to be? And more importantly, is Zika virus really responsible for these birth defects? Colombia reports that 3,177 pregnant women have tested positive for Zika virus, yet no cases of microcephaly have occurred.78 The evidence suggests implicating Zika virus may be a matter of convenience — leaders of the public-private partnership between industry and government are quickly blaming the rise in microcephaly on disease-carrying mosquitoes in order to sell more GE mosquitoes, to sell more toxic insecticides, and to have an excuse to develop and sell more vaccines. All the while, they are keeping hidden some of the most likely culprits — poor nutrition and toxic environmental exposures like pesticides, as well as vaccines given during pregnancy when the fetus is most susceptible to harm. By throwing up a convenient veil in the form of Zika-infected mosquitoes, business can not only go on as usual, but grow and expand profits to boot. I have no immediate answers to this problem, other than a firm suggestion, and that is to put on your thinking cap and assess the situation based on what the actual evidence shows, and do not just go by the sound bytes regurgitated by the talking heads. Sooner or later the insanity must end. We cannot expect a healthy infant and child population when pregnant women are assaulted with toxins at every turn. And MORE toxins is NOT the answer! This really should be self-evident. For all intents and purposes my review of the available evidence strongly suggests that the Zika virus is just another fabricated threat designed to support even further use of profitable but unproven and highly ineffective products like vaccines. For a quick list of some of the most common toxic threats to avoid during pregnancy, take a look at this infographic. For more healthy pregnancy tips, please see my "No-Nonsense Guide to a Naturally Healthy Pregnancy and Baby."

 [+] Sources and References