Gardasil – Urgent research warranted

A Danish study examining the effects of the Gardasil vaccine has found consistencies in the reported symptoms in the study population. Although the physicians say that they can neither confirm nor rule out that the vaccine was the cause, they have concluded that, “Further research is urgently warranted to clarify the pathophysiology behind the symptoms experienced in these patients and to evaluate the possibility and the nature of any casual link and hopefully establish targeted treatment options”. Louise Brinth, one of the researchers in the study has written an extensive 63-page rebuttal of the assessment report on HPV by the European Medicines Agency published on 26th November 2015. To learn more about ANH-Intl’s ongoing concerns over the safety and efficacy of the HPV Vaccine, visit our Vaccine Choice campaign page.

France to ban specific glyphosate formulations

France’s minister of ecology, Ségolène Royal, has called for a ban on glyphosate mixed with specific adjuvants (notably tallow amine), due to perceived risks to human health. The news reported in Le Monde newspaper comes after the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) released its opinion on the contradicting results of recent studies by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The EFSA declared that glyphosate was “unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans”, however the IARC have registered glyphosate as a “possible carcinogen”. Why the contradictory results? One explanation may be that EFSA only evaluated glyphosate on its own, while IARC examined glyphosate formulations. Glyphosate is the key chemical in Monsanto’s Round Up, the world’s number one herbicide. Predictably, Monsanto has demanded a retraction of IARC’s report.

Human GMO trial

A petition has been delivered to both the Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Gates Foundation opposing a human feeding trial for the new GM banana enriched with beta-carotene. The university has offered young women $900 USD to participate in the trial, but there are fears this will pose a serious health risk for the students. Dr David Schubert, a molecular biologist has said, "Since there is no required safety testing of the banana or any other GMO, doing a feeding trial in people, especially women, should not be allowed. It is both unethical and immoral”. Several studies on animals have already suggested that GMO’s pose serious health risks and can be linked with cancer, infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. Take action and sign the petition.

American government ‘equal partners’ with parents

The American government has issued a draft policy statement that will allow it to forcibly become an ‘equal partner’ with parents raising children in the US. Essentially this will allow the government to overrule the wishes of parents raising some frankly terrifying concerns. When a government takes a decision to remove parental rights, warning bells should be ringing loudly and actions to block any such legislation are essential. The first potential battleground that comes to mind is that of health and whether you will be able to choose alternative forms of healthcare for your child or be forced to hand him/her over to conventional medicine and ultimately be at the mercy of Big Pharma? Medical kidnap is a very real reality for too many parents in the US already, but this draft policy statement could make it a daily reality for every parent. Sobering to say the least.

Crystal City water crisis?

Water contamination is becoming a far too common occurrence in the USA. First there was Flint and now there’s Crystal City. Recently Crystal City residents took to social media to share horrifying images of the dark-coloured water coming from their taps. Some residents even compared the sludge to oil, it was so dark reports Garrett Brnger. The city has explained that it was caused by sediment flushed into distribution lines when their water tower was drained for maintenance. Despite tanks not being cleaned for up to 30 years the city did not believe that the sediment would get into distribution lines and therefore did not see it necessary to warn residents prior to the incident, which would have given them an opportunity to take appropriate precautions.

Artificial grass football pitches potentially carcinogenic

A former NHS boss from Darlington has asked the UK government to review the use of 3G artificial grass pitches after his son developed Hodgkin lymphoma after being exposed to the ‘crumb rubber’ on the surface. The surface is made from used car tyres often containing toxic chemicals, and although tests have been carried out on emissions there is no evidence supporting its safety when ingested, which as Nigel Maguire explains as a goal keeper his son Lewis would often “come back telling me how he swallowed a lot of it”. He is asking the government to carry out a review looking into the available evidence, to commission research and to look at the heath impact of the increasingly popular pitches.

C-section increases health risks

A new US study has been published asking whether babies born by Caesarean (C-)section are more at risk of future health problems. Previous research has already suggested a correlation between people born via a C-section and an increased risk of obesity, asthma, allergies and autism, but further research was needed to confirm the causal link. In the new study, researchers found that the microbiome of infants birthed vaginally were enriched with Lactobacillus and Bacteroides. These are 2 types of bacteria that are involved in supporting an infant’s immature immune system to not only develop, but to recognise self from non-self and differentiate between harmful and beneficial. The babies born by C-section are born in a sterile environment and lack the bacterial colonisation that occurs during vaginal deliveries. The researchers in the study exposed a small selection of babies to their mother’s vaginal fluids within the first two minutes of being delivered by C-section and compared the results to those born by sterile C-section and those born through natural delivery. Although the sample size of the study was limited, the study showed some promising results. The babies who were exposed to their mother’s vaginal fluids exhibited more microbial similarities with those born naturally as compared with those born by C-section who weren't exposed to vaginal fluids .