Did you ever wonder what happened to Zika?  You should, as our Government gave the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) $1.1 billion to study and develop a vaccine against Zika.   Where did that money go and what happened to Zika?

Recall that the Zika virus was making national headlines in 2016 as the CDC and other Powers-That-Be were claiming that Zika was responsible for the microcephaly epidemic that was occurring in one area of Brazil.  Here is a sample of what the media had to say about Zika in 2016:

I know many of you do not like the term ‘fake news’. (Trust me, I hear about it every time I use it, especially by my much older sister.)  But, I can find no better way to describe the mainstream reporting  Zika coverage by the media, which was being driven by the CDC.

Here’s what I wrote on July 8, 2016:

“Zika refers to the virus spread by mosquitos.  It was first described as coming from the Zika Forest of Uganda in 1947.  Zika has affected many tropical countries including many in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific.  And, over the last 70 years, there has not been an epidemic of microcephaly—children born with small heads–in any of these countries until a few months ago.  Microcephaly made headlines early this year when a Brazilian doctor reported an epidemic increase in children being born with small heads—microcephaly.  This doctor also noticed that many of the children who were born with small heads had mothers who were infected with Zika during their pregnancy.”

I also discussed the fact that Zika occurred in many other countries which did not suffer with an outbreak of microcephaly.  I suggested that Congress not fund the CDCs folly of studying a benign virus.

One month later I wrote a second blog post about Zika and commented that “…seven weeks after the CDC requested $1.9 billion dollars, the CDC announced that the Zika virus was, in fact, “…a cause of microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects.”  This ludicrous statement came even after the World Health Organization stated, “No scientific evidence to date confirms a link between Zika virus and microcephaly…”

A few weeks later, I posted again about Zika lamenting that we (the taxpayers) were now funding Big Pharma to manufacture a vaccine against Zika even though:

• A microcephaly epidemic only occurred in NE Brazil
• Zika was never shown to cause the microcephaly epidemic in NE Brazil
• Zika is rampant throughout Brazil including the Amazon where there is no microcephaly epidemic
• Colombia which is next to Brazil studied 12,000 newborn babies and found no microcephaly cases even though Zika is rampant there
• A microcephaly epidemic occurred in NE Brazil, the CDC wants $1.9 billion to study and develop a vaccine from a virus that has NEVER been shown to cause microcephaly

I finished that third post by stating, “I am hoping this is my last post about Zika.”

What prompted this fourth post?  Two things.  First, a patient asked me if she should be concerned about going to South America because of Zika.  The answer to that one is easy, no concerns at all.

Second, a 2018 report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) stated that U.S. Autism rates are stabilizing.

According the NIH, 2.41% or 1 in 41 children in the U.S. are autistic.  That is a 40% increase since 2010. Keep in mind, in the 1970s, autism occurred in 0.01% or 1 in 10,000 children.  Even as late as the 1980s, one in 500 children suffered with autism.

Stabilizing?  The word that should be used is infuriating.

Folks, the autism epidemic will ruin our country if we don’t fix it.  We simply cannot function when one in 41 children are sick with a chronic illness.

The CDC and the other Powers-That-Be should be asking for money to study why autism has increased at epidemic rates in our children.  Instead of asking for billions to study a benign virus, perhaps we should be studying our children.

President Trump, when he was campaigning for office, stated that he wanted to drain the swamp in Washington D.C.  Let’s start draining the swamp by asking the CDC for the $1.1 billion dollars it wasted studying Zika and developing a vaccine that was never needed.  Better yet, let’s demand to know how this money was spent.  Furthermore, let’s spend money studying why our children are so sick.   Although the CDC, NIH, FDA and many other agencies won’t be happy with the results of such a study, only then can we begin to drain the swamp and begin to reverse the decline in the health of our children.

I hope I don’t have to write again about the CDC wasting our money.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of hope here.