toxicity - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 59 - Parasite Sickens 250 in Midwest;Fresh Produce SuspectedSo far, there’s no clear source for the illnesses, whichwere reported from mid-June through July, said Dr.Barbara Herwaldt, a medical epidemiologist with theCDC’s division of parasitic diseases and malaria centers.“Nothing has been implicated yet in a formal sense,”Herwaldt said. “No food item has been identified as thesource of the outbreak.”But officials in Nebraska and other states suggest thatfresh vegetables may be the source, based on interviewswith people who got sick. Tainted produce could havebeen shipped across state lines, accounting for theillnesses in multiple states, Herwaldt said. More than onefood source could be behind the outbreak andcontaminated water used in growing practices could be aculprit.Cyclospora is a microscopic protozoan parasite excretedin human stool. Protozoa are tiny, one-celled animals thatbreathe, move and reproduce.Symptoms of infection can include weeks or months ofwatery diarrhea -- but the infection is treatable withcommon antibiotics, Herwaldt said. She encouragedpeople who have unexplained stomach troubles to seekmedical help and to ask whether a test for cyclosporainfection might be necessary. Such tests are not routinelyperformed, and have to be requested.Other symptoms can include fatigue, loss of appetite,weight loss, bloating, intestinal gas, stomach cramps,nausea, vomiting, muscle aches and low-grade fever.There’s no known natural source in the U.S. ofcyclospora. That raises the possibility that importedproduce could be behind the outbreak, Herwaldt added.Indeed, raspberries imported from Guatemala wereresponsible for a 1996 outbreak that sickened 1,465people in the U.S. and Canada, and also for a 1997outbreak that made more than 1,000 people ill, CDCrecords show. Other foods considered potential culprits inother outbreaks include fresh herbs and lettuce.Cyclospora infections must be reported in 39 states, plusNew York City and Washington, D.C., Herwaldt said.CDC encourages other states to report infections as well,both in order to help treat individual people and to helpstop the future spread of the parasite.Consumers should wash their hands well when handlingfresh produce and scrub it well, if possible. Refrigerationseems to slow the parasite’s ability to infect people,Herwaldt said.It’s possible that the contaminated produce has made itsway through the food supply in the past month, but it’sstill too soon to tell, she said.“What we don’t know yet is whether the transmission orspread of the parasite is ongoing,” she said.http://www.nbcnews.com/health/parasite-sickens-250-midwest-fresh-produce-suspected-6C10709186☻☻☻☻☻What is the Connectionbetween Pesticides andBreast Cancer?A growing body of scientific evidence suggests thatexposures to toxic chemicals, including pesticides, inthe environment are contributing to high breast cancerrates. Pesticides used in and around the home and inagriculture are used to control pests like weeds(herbicides), fungus (fungicides), insects including fleasand ticks on pets (insecticides) and rodents(rodenticides).Pesticides are just one of many daily toxic exposures.We can be exposed to unsafe chemicals through the useof pesticides in our yards, on our pets, in public parks oron the food we eat as well as from certain plastics,cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.Even though some pesticides have been banned, theyremain in the body and the environment for decades.DDT, perhaps the most studied pesticide, was banned inthe U.S. in 1973 but can still be found in household dustsamples and in the body fat of humans and animals andin human breast milk and placenta. Not all pesticideslinked to breast cancer act the same.Some pesticides are breast carcinogens. Carcinogenicchemicals are found widely in our environment andcause direct damage to breast cell DNA or change thecell’s ability to respond to internal or externalchallenges.Ten of the 216 animal mammary carcinogens listed bySilent Spring Institute in 2007 are pesticides.Other pesticides disrupt hormones in the body. Manypesticides are endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptorsare chemicals that disturb or mimic normal biologicalprocesses like the actions of hormones including androgens, estrogens and thyroid hormone. Chemicals thatmimic estrogen are of particular concern becauseexposure over time to natural estrogen—or syntheticchemicals that act like estrogen—increases the risk ofbreast cancer. Continued on page 6160-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013