Bizarre week. I found out Mr. Ronald Tirino from the United Nations is following my Facebook page devoted to Zika, Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust confirmed two whales (out of 16) died from entanglement, and CBC is censoring my comments like no tomorrow. Now that we have a new Health Minister and a new Chief Science Advisor, I've decided to add them to this petition. Notably, in this CBC Quirks and Quarks post with Bob McDonald: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/september-30-2018-1.4312266/canada-s-new-chief-science-adviser-answers-your-questions-1.4312268 Dr. Mona Nemer answered this question: "Is there a scientific topic that stands out to her as needing the most public attention in Canada right now?" with "climate change is on everyone's mind, after the summer that you've seen, and the various summers and winters that we've seen. Climate change is a reality ..." And later, she added: "Science is not about beliefs and opinions. Science is about facts. Please be engaged, continue asking questions, participate as much as you can. It will all make us stronger." Well, here's a question based on facts: why isn't anyone looking into what Wolbachia-infected Aedes releases are doing to our food chain and specifically vertebrates? Are we going to foolishly cling to Hertig's 1936 results on mice and chicken embryos? Or, are we going to acknowledge and devote resources to testing vertebrates (including humans) for the presence of Wolbachia? Because here are facts that are being willfully ignored: The direct effect of Wolbachia can either impede or promote the pathogen's replication and survival (Zug and Hammerstein, 2015). Examples of neutral or pro-pathogenic effect of Wolbachia include: Brugia pahangi (Dutton and Sinkins, 2005); Japanese encephalitis (JE) Virus (Tsai et al., 2006); Drosophila C Virus (Osborne et al., 2009); and Plasmodium gallinaceum (Baton et al., 2013). Wolbachia Enhances West Nile Virus (WNV) Infection in the Mosquito Culex tarsalis: http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0002965 Zika Virus in Salivary Glands of Five Different Species of Wild-Caught Mosquitoes from Mexico: http://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/06/19/151951 Re: Sexual transmission of Zika There is commonly held belief that Zika is rarely a sexually-transmitted disease. However, "up to 47 percent of ZIKV cases in Barranquilla, with 95 percent confidence, may have been due to sexual contact alone." Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755436516300330 North Atlantic right whales are highly promiscuous (as are some humans). Over 28,000 cases of Zika were reported in Puerto Rico as of Oct. 26th, 2016. The waters surrounding many islands in the Caribbean are obviously teeming with Zika-infected Aedes and Culex mosquitoes, eggs, and larvae. Eventually, Cal fin and krill will be nibbling away at them. So, the major food source of North Atlantic right whales will also be exposed to the Zika virus and Wolbachia — both are maternally inherited. And no, Cal fin and krill do NOT consume ONLY phytoplankton. Fact: "Results of microplankton counts indicated C. finmarchicus to be omnivorous." Source: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014JSR....85..292L Omnivory has been observed [in Calanus finmarchicus] (Ohman & Runge 1994, Basedow & Tande 2006). Source: http://disccrs.org/files/MEPS_diapause_2008.pdf "Krill feed on plankton—tiny plants and animal larvae [young] that float with the ocean currents." Source: https://books.google.ca/books?id=13msrf1fRxEC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=krill+eats+insect+larvae&source=bl&ots=9E6GVs-c4A&sig=y1cjU6YnJ5rXviSHFX26jtAei14&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiroa3Hx87WAhWF4iYKHfseBCMQ6AEISzAJ#v=onepage&q=krill%20eats%20insect%20larvae&f=false North Atlantic right whales feeds mostly on copepods, and krill larvae. About 1,000 - 2,500 kg (2,200 - 5,500 lb) may be consumed every day. Source: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cetaceans/about/right_whales/north_atlantic_right_whale Bottom line: These whales (and many marine mammals, shorebirds, and humans) are being exposed to inordinate amounts of Wolbachia (a reproductive parasite). It would be willfully negligent to NOT test mammals and humans for the presence of Wolbachia. Authors note: I cannot use italics or hyperlink. Ergo, links are not hidden. How your signature helps: each time a supporter signs our petition, an email is automatically sent directly to those being petitioned (governments, companies and individuals). When hundreds or even thousands of emails arrive in their inboxes, our message is impossible to ignore.