Experts debunk viral theory linking microcephaly and pesticide
After a story went viral over the weekend linking a pesticide, rather than a virus, to the high rate of the birth defect microcephaly in Brazil, health officials from the United States and Brazil swiftly sought to refute the claim.
The University Network of Environment and Health, a group of doctors and researchers in Argentina, presented the provocative argument February 3. In their report, researchers claimed pyriproxyfen— a pesticide used in drinking water to block mosquito larvae— may be disrupting fetal development when ingested by pregnant women, potentially leading to babies born with microcephaly, The Washington Post reported.
Rates of microcephaly, a birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains, have increased in Brazil, with the latest report revealing 4,443 suspected and confirmed cases as the country deals with an outbreak of Zika virus and its suspected link to microcephaly.
American and Brazilian health experts quickly responded to the report, reiterating that the evidence of the link— including the presence of Zika in amniotic fluid and the strong geographic and temporal correlation between the cases and infections— is strong and growing, The Washington Post reported.
The University Network of Environment and Health group did not conduct laboratory tests or epidemiological studies, Fortune reported. There is no scientific basis to the theory that pyriproxyfen is the cause of microcephaly, experts said.
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