It isnt exactly the same to compare mutationin naturaly occuring bacteria that we have defenses to, vrs bacteria that are engineered to avoide normal animal defenses, whether it is a mosquito or human being.
I am not saying that we should not do it, but I am saying I wish they would test their modifications on volunteers for a few years before being alowed to release it into NAtujre.
In my book Seeds of Deception, I bring out new information about the genetically engineered food supplement L-tryptophan, which was responsible for a deadly epidemic in the United States in the 1980s.
Much of the research for the chapter came from the work of investigator William Crist. The book cited Crist¹s report, which was expected to have been posted on a website well in advance of my book¹s publication. Unfortunately, Crist was unable to update his report at that time. It is now available at
www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/index.cfm and provides important new evidence, including ways in which the U.S. government apparently hid information in order to protect the biotech industry.
In October, 1989, 44-year old Kathy Lorio arrived in the medical office of Dr. Phil Hertzman in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Lorio, who had been healthy and active, was suddenly struck with severe pain and a host of debilitating symptoms. Blood tests revealed that her eosinophil count had skyrocketed. The normal concentration of this white blood cell is about 10 per CC. Allergies or asthma can make it rise to 500. Lorio¹s was over 10,000.
In a coincidence that was destined to save lives, Hertzman referred her to Santa Fe rheumatologist James Mayer, who happened to have recently seen another patient, Bonnie Bishop, with similar symptoms.
Bishop was in severe pain, her arms and legs were filled with fluid, she had trouble breathing, and her muscles were so weak she couldn¹t even sit up. ³She slumped like a rag doll.²[1] And her eosinophil count was extremely high.
Patient histories revealed that both Bishop and Lorio were taking the food supplement L-tryptophan. Although it was the only supplement common to both patients, the doctors were hesitant to blame L-tryptophan for the disease. It is an essential amino acid, naturally found in turkey and milk, and in supplement form had been consumed safely for years as a treatment for stress, insomnia and depression.
Hertzman checked the literature on eosinophils. One author¹s name kept coming up call. Gleich told him that two cases weren¹t enough to draw a conclusion about L-tryptophan. Better wait. They didn¹t wait long.
That same day a third case, also linked to L-tryptophan, was reported in New Mexico. Gleich called the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta and told them about the cluster of patients in New Mexico and the possible link to L-tryptophan.
Within two weeks, three other patients checked into the Mayo Clinic with serious symptoms taken L-tryptophan and they were from different parts of the country.
Gleich called the CDC again. He told them it¹s not limited to New Mexico nationwide.
Articles began circulating about the mysterious disease. The Albuquerque Journal ran a series about it that eventually won the Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times covered it. As more articles appeared, the phone calls started coming in hundreds, then thousands: individuals with incurable symptoms, doctors with incurable patients, and stories of horrific symptoms. Some had coughs, rashes, physical weakness, pneumonia, breathing difficulties, hardening of the skin, mouth ulcers, nausea, shortness of breath, muscle spasms, visual problems, hair loss, difficulty with concentration or memory, and paralysis. Not everyone had all the symptoms, but everyone seemed to be in pain had seen before. The disease was named eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, or EMS the muscle pain. In all, about 5,000 - 10,000 people got sick; some are permanently disabled. About 100 people died.
Disease Traced to Genetic Modification
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported on July 11, 1990 that people only got EMS from pills made by Showa Denko, one of the six manufacturers whose L-tryptophan was imported into the U.S. from Japan. Showa Denko¹s pills had several unique contaminants that were likely to be responsible for the epidemic. Moreover, the manufacturer was genetically engineering bacteria to produce the L-tryptophan more economically. Genes had been inserted into bacteria¹ s DNA in order to produce high concentrations of several enzymes used in its production.
Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, who helped track the source of the epidemic, said in a Newsday article on August 14, ³This obviously leads to that whole debate about genetic engineering.² Two weeks later, FDA spokesperson Sam Page was quoted in Science magazine ³blasting² Osterholm for raising the issue of genetic engineering, ³especially given the impact on the industry.²[2]