Crisis: Epidemics & Pandemics

Originally published in Yale Environment 360, Sonia Shah writes that in the past dozen years, three new diseases have decimated populations of amphibians, honeybees, and -- most recently -- bats. Increasingly, scientists suspect that low-level exposure to pesticides could be contributing to this rash of epidemics.

H1N1 swine flu vaccine adverse reactionsH1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Side EffectsWhile a few stories about adverse reactions to the H1N1 swine flu vaccine have gotten into the mainstream media, the reality is that most mainstream media outlets are extremely hesitant to publish such stories.  The general belief in the media seems to be that if they publish a story about a "rare" adverse reaction to the H1N1 vaccine, then the general public may be discouraged from taking the vaccine and more people will get sick.  However, this is a totally false assumption by the media.  The truth is that reports of serious adverse reactions to the H1N1 swine flu vaccine are constantly pouring in.  In addition, the pharmaceutical companies who produced these vaccines spend millions of dollars to advertise on mainstream media outlets.  Do you think that the owners of those mainstream media outlets are going to do anything that will jeopardize that source of income?  The truth is that the mainstream media is not going to tell you the stories of those people who have had their lives destroyed by H1N1 swine flu vaccine side effects.  Since the mainstream media will not give these victims a voice, we will.

More than 100,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine are being withdrawn across the country, after Manitoba health officials announced Thursday they'd noticed a higher-than-usual number of allergic reactions from one batch.

Dr. Larry Palevsky is a board-certified pediatrician trained at the New York School of Medicine, and one of the leading physicians in the country who, from my view, is actually able to compellingly and convincingly provide sound, rational, scientific justification as to why you need to seriously reconsider the wisdom of choosing vaccines as an option to prevent against most diseases.

"Organic beekeepers have not experienced CCD, leading to speculation that overall greener management practices could be the answer even if direct causes are not determined."

An Italian inventor has combined faith and ingenuity to come up with a way to keep church traditions alive for the faithful without the fear of contracting swine flu -- an electronic holy water dispenser.

The idea that bees are disappearing for reasons unknown has embedded itself in the public consciousness. It is also a great story that taps into the anxieties of our age. But is it true? We think not, at least not yet.

The film examines the evidence for this confusing tangle of theories, but it ultimately settles one another cause altogether: pesticides... These pesticides aren't intended to kill bees. But, according to filmmakers, around the time bee deaths started being reported, a new type of neonicotinoid-based "systemic" pesticide produced by Bayer Crop Science and other agrochemical companies was deployed by farmers

Health care workers in New York will no longer be forced to get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, CBS 2 has learned.

The New York Civil Liberties Union demanded on Tuesday that the state health commissioner withdraw a new regulation requiring hundreds of thousands of health care workers to get both seasonal and swine flu vaccinations.