Brazil Ends Monsanto Linked Pesticide Use to Fight Zika After It’s Exposed as Cause of Birth Defects

[radical noodle]

2. Untrue

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zika-monsanto-pyriproxyfen-microcephaly_us_56c2712de4b0b40245c79f7c

Not only does the report convey inaccurate information about Zika virus’ history and speculate about the timetables of microcephaly cases and the use of the larvicide in water treatment, but it ends in a diatribe against other types of mosquito control efforts. Given the clear need for mosquito control to prevent further illnesses — and not just Zika, but also dengue fever, chikungunya, and yellow fever — this isn’t just ill-conceived, it’s actually dangerous.

“The effect of this [report] to cause panic in people, and to prevent an effective response to disease carrying-vectors, is a very substantial negative,” said Ian Musgrave, an expert on neurotoxicology and pharmacology at the University of Adelaide. “If they wanted to control the mosquitos, what are they going to use now? Something even more toxic?”

The report is having a real effect on the ground, too: Though the Brazilian government dismissed claims of a relationship between pyriproxyfen and microcephaly, at least one state in Brazil has already suspended its use. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, spoke out against the “sketchy” report, reports the Wall Street journal, as did Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Scaring people into thinking the insecticide is the cause of the birth defects will mean even more children will be affected by Zika.