An FDA panel has voted to NOT test donor blood for Zika. Apparently, 10 of the 11 committee members concluded, "Universal individual donor testing, while comprehensive, is resource intensive and places a burden on the blood system that is not outweighed by the benefits." Source: https://www.pm360online.com/panel-votes-against-universal-blood-donor-screens-for-zika-virus Yeah, tell THAT to any pregnant woman nowadays or anyone who relies on blood donations to stay alive. And, it appears that the likelihood of Zika being transmitted via blood donors is being dangerously downplayed. Since Zika shares the same phylogenetic clade alongside West Nile virus, I found these sentences chilling to read: "Immature or partially mature flavivirus particles of both DENV and WNV have been shown to account for up to as much as 40% of the total virus population in a given infection. While they were traditionally thought to be noninfectious, several recent studies have shown that immature WNV particles can be highly immunogenic and infectious in vitro and in vivo when bound by antibodies against the E or prM protein." Source: http://cmr.asm.org/content/25/4/635.full Plus, Zika virus RNA loads are significantly higher in capillary samples which is extremely worrisome, particularly in species who get superficial cuts (like whales). "The higher load and longer detection of Zika virus RNA in this compartment might be attributable to Zika virus replication in permissive cells of the skin (e.g., human dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes); capillaries; or both) ... Zika virus‒infected patients would need to be shielded from mosquitoes for a longer period than is currently practiced to limit potential vector-borne transmission." Source: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/23/11/17-0337_article My own data (based on organic visits to a reference-based article I wrote about Zika in men) confirmed my worst fears: Overnight-active Culex spp. are probably responsible for the worst manifestations of the Zika. And Wolbachia is likely providing the mode of transportation to the gonads, heart, CNS, optic lobe, and retina. Zika (in men) has moved further north, into New York, the U.K. and Canada. See my video (above) for more cities. I have tried to add crucial studies to Wikipedia, but they were removed. Many have complained that Wikipedia editors take bribes to keep certain studies off their pages. Here's proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2ZuG12yM0E&t What you aren't being told: "The presence of a virus facilitates the invasion of Wolbachia" (Strauß and Telschow, 2015). Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4412059 So, is Wolbachia akin to pouring gasoline on a fire? Once men acquire Zika — and remember 80 percent have no idea they are infected — does Wolbachia and Zika work in tandem to cause sterility, plummeting male hormone levels, and early death? And is this what is happening to North Atlantic right whales? Most of the whales that died were male. We need to test for it. Because what is happening to North Atlantic right whales could happen to us. The book Immunology, Inflammation and Diseases of the Eye by E. Pearlman and K. Gentil (on page 91) states: Wolbachia "is most numerous in the mammalian host compared with the insect stage ... Elevated Wolbachia DNA and even intact Wolbachia are detected in the blood." Further along, it states "within 7 days in the mammalian host, bacteria numbers increased 600-fold." It would be easy to add Wolbachia to serologic testing. Yes, we have evidence that a human can be infected with Wolbachia without any trace of the nematode worm that emits it. An ignored 2015 paper by Chen, Dong, et al. clearly states: "Wolbachia spp. can infect mammalian cells, even human cells in vitro. Horizontal transmission in insects and among helminths occurs via cell–cell invasion, predation and cannibalism, among other possibilities, establishing the potential for horizontal transfer to animals and humans as well. Hence, Wolbachia spp. should be further evaluated as causes of human infection ..." Source: http://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(14)00040-8/fulltext Bottom line: It seems beyond foolish (to me) to pretend that trillions of Wolbachia-infected Aedes male mosquitos, eggs, and larvae do not end up everywhere in our oceans, eventually. Proof: "Arctic Sea ice from remote locations contains concentrations of microplastics are several orders of magnitude greater than those that have been previously reported ... microplastics have accumulated far from population centers" (Obbard et al. 2014). Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014EF000240/full Just a Reminder . . . Safety tests (prior to Wolbachia-infected Aedes male releases) were ONLY carried out on spiders, spider eggs, soil samples, plant leaves, plant roots, earthworms, and millipedes (in Australia). Source: http://www.infobarrel.com/Wolbachia-Infected_Mosquitoes_Might_Reduce_Dengue_Enhance_Zika_and_Cause_a_Million_Souls_to_Become_Sterile They did not test: birds, bats, Culex mosquitoes, planktivorous fish and other aquatic species. It's high time we demand that Wolbachia is tested for in vertebrate species (including humans) because there is no way to "take back" Wolbachia. It is maternally inherited. Scott O'Neill states: "In two of our initial study sites in Australia, approximately 90 per cent of the mosquitoes continue to be infected with Wolbachia after initial release more than six years ago." Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3669520/Could-harmless-bacteria-key-stopping-Zika-Infecting-insects-microbes-stops-transmitting-virus-humans.html Therefore, it will take decades to restore the ecological balance in some regions of the world. Thank you once again for taking the time to sign and share our petition. And remember, family members can sign too. I'll be in touch. Warmly, Rose Authors note: I cannot use italics or hyperlink. Ergo, links are not hidden and I used caps for emphasis. 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.