Dr. Theresa Tam (Our Chief Public Health Officer) Responded

I guess they don't teach common sense in medical school. Because I sent the following to the Public Health Agency of Canada (condensed for this update): The EPA quietly approved 20 states to release even more Wolbachia-infected Aedes males. Source: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0205 I mapped out the 20 states and all (except California and Nevada) are just south of our Canadian border — beside New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. Of course, mosquitoes, eggs and larvae (which will all contain Wolbachia) do not respect boundaries. And, U.S. mosquito control boards do not test Culex spp. for Zika. Instead, they continue to ignore Dr. Ayres and other independent research teams that found Culex to be ZIKV vectors — particularly, Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tarsalis. When Culex tarsalis and Culex quinquefasciatus naturally acquired Wolbachia, they became better vectors of West Nile virus and malaria, respectively. West Nile virus is more related to Zika than the media, politicians, and our public health authorities are willing to admit. Dr. Fiona Hunter (who has only been cited once) wrote: "Phylogenetically, ZIKV clearly belongs to the lineage that contains WNV and SLE, two so-called “Culex-associated” viruses. Nodal support for the [ZIKV + [SLE + WNV]] clade ranges from 97 to 100% (Kuno et al., 1998; Lanciotti et al., 2008; Moureau et al., 2015)." She stressed: "Scientists need to consider the possibility that ZIKV may be more similar to the classic “Culex-associated” flaviviruses than it is to the “Aedes-associated” viruses by collecting and testing field-collected Culex spp., by screening a number of different vertebrates for their potential roles as reservoirs, and by studying the vector competence of Culex spp. in the laboratory." Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5500625 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." Therefore, it would be fairly easy to add Wolbachia to serologic testing. An ignored 2015 paper by Chen, Dong, et al: "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 I've included screenshots of other commentary and papers that acknowledge this huge risk to human health. I am not asking for money. I am simply asking: If Wolbachia-infected Aedes are going to be released, then why can't we test vertebrates for Wolbachia infections? Bottom Line: Canada's top doctor is going to sit back and watch humans become infected with Wolbachia in Canada. I suppose she assumes it will remain within U.S. borders. What kind of education do you need to obtain common sense? As I suspect, the highest levels of government (around the world) know precisely what is happening. This has clearly become willful negligence and it will take an ophthalmologist, doctor, or politician to be personally affected before anything will change. I can't fight this forever. Please, ask just one more person to sign (family can sign too). You never need to donate. I'll be in touch, Rose Authors note: I cannot use italics or hyperlink on petition updates. 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.