- U-Report
VIVA – A mysterious and deadly brain disease is hitting 200 people in the New Brunswick, Canada. It made health officials increasingly concerned.
The disease causes neurological symptoms such as hallucinations, muscle wasting, vision problems, memory loss and abnormal movements. The first case was detected in 2015 in a small group of patients, which eventually grew to 48 cases.
But some health experts and locals say the number of people with the condition is much higher, and may now exceed 200.
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Health officials are increasingly concerned that this brain disorder is affecting more young people.
"I'm very concerned about the increase in the number of neurological syndromes that appear at a young age and that appear early," neurologist dr. Alier Marrero wrote in a letter on last January 30 to New Brunswick's chief medical officer and the federal chief public health officer.
"Over the past year, I have followed 147 cases, between the ages of 17 and 80. Of these, 57 were early-onset cases and 41 were young-onset cases," Marrero wrote, according to the Toronto Star.
Marrero and health officials suspect that an herbicide called Glyphosate may be the culprit behind the mysterious brain disease.
This herbicide is used in agriculture, the forestry industry, and as an exterminator on household lawns. Glyphosate contains phosphorus that can stimulate the growth of blue-green algae, a type of cyanobacteria that can make people sick and kill animals, including pets.
In 2021, there were nine deaths attributed to the mysterious disease.
But a government investigation, which considered environmental toxins to be the cause, abruptly closed the case in 2021.
In his letter, Marrero highlighted that laboratory tests on patients showed "clear signs of exposure" to glyphosate, as well as other compounds related to the herbicide.
A group of patients from New Brunswick has called on the federal and provincial governments to conduct a full-scale investigation into this brain disease.
"We formally demand that federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos release the Canadian scientists and direct the Public Health Agency of Canada to enforce the Canada Health Act and bring federal experts back into the investigation," said Steve Ellis, a patient advocate.
