Are MDs and PhDs Always Right?

I joined a Facebook group to help inform those diagnosed with ocular melanoma that a broad range PCR screen for infection by Rickettsiales (Wolbachia genes detected in blood) would be wise before enucleation or evisceration. Why? Because there are treatment options for Wolbachia infections of the eye: doxycycline, minocycline, or rifampicin (heavy-duty antibiotics). In fact, rifampicin is used to treat several types of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, leprosy, and Legionnaire's disease. But for hours, one woman continued to deride me and my findings because I am not an MD or hold a PhD. Anyone who has employed me can attest that I have a drive to continually learn. My background includes nursing, orthotics/prosthetics, and ophthalmology assistant/technician/photographer (mostly OCT). But seriously, it's been the last years of writing for InfoBarrel, Paw Mane Fin, and Environment 911 that clued me into what Wolbachia is doing to vertebrate species. Sure, a background in those three fields educated me about neglected tropical diseases like lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) and onchocerciasis (river blindness) and the basics of microbiology. And I can safely say, if you work in only one field, you might miss these early warnings: Arctic tern breeding failures, Roseate terns breeding failures, North Atlantic right whales die-offs, Adelie penguins breeding failures, crashes in shorebird populations, planktivorous fish, insectivores, and steelhead trout. So What's the Connection to Cancer? Full name, Wolbachia wMel (Drosophila melanogaster) is one of the Wolbachia strains used in these mosquito releases. Drosophila melanogaster contains a single p53-like protein, phylogenetically related to the ancestor of the mammalian p53. But I Discovered More: "Like mammalian p53, Dmp53 binds specifically to human p53 binding sites, and overexpression of Dmp53 induces apoptosis." Source: Drosophila p53 is a structural and functional homolog of the tumor suppressor p53: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10778859 Wolbachia surface antigens activate Toll-like receptors (TLR 2 and 4) on leucocytes which trigger inflammatory responses and are major drivers of the disease pathology. TLR4 is the lone TLR known to be expressed by uvea and sclera. And "one phage could potentially be used to modify a broad range of Wolbachia stains" (Tanaka et al., 2009; Kent and Bordenstein, 2010; Wang et al., 2013). I believe that phage is probably Zika, but it could be other viruses too. Uveal melanoma is sometimes misdiagnosed. I've read stats ranging from 2 percent to 24 percent of the time. Study literature states the cause is unknown. So I find it baffling why anyone brush off or ignore a plausible theory as to why it's occurring in a geographic cluster. Even Oxitec Ltd. submitted these comments on the docket about Wolbachia pipientis ZAP males: "Wolbachia pipientis may entail significant undefined risk to human health and the environment." "Oxitec’s self-limiting genetic engineering is well-defined and includes only two well-studied genes, which were purposefully added and reviewed by the regulatory agencies, whereas the potential genetic modification that may result from use of Wolbachia pipientis, ZAP strain bacterium is wholly undefined." "Several studies have shown that horizontal gene transfer between Wolbachia and their insect hosts may result in gene transfers ranging from nearly the entire Wolbachia genome (>1 megabase) to short insertions (<500 base pairs) into various hosts." "Effectively the Wolbachia approach could introduce over one thousand new genes into the target mosquito with unknown consequences." On InfoBarrel, I have 25 referenced-based papers about Zika / Wolbachia (all with clickable links to studies/sources at the bottom) under my pen name, RoseWrites: http://www.infobarrel.com/Users/RoseWrites If you aren't into reading, Derrick Jensen (one of 50 visionaries who are changing the world) interviewed me (and I mention river blindness and its connection to Wolbachia): http://resistanceradioprn.podbean.com/e/resistance-radio-guest-rose-webster-122417 Thank you for your continued support. I'll be in touch, Rose Authors note: I cannot use italics or hyperlink on petition updates. 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.