Environmental contributors to autism are behind its growing prevalence, US Secretary of Health said on Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., without presenting scientific evidence.
He added that he plans to analyze everything – from mold to medicine – to identify taxpayers.
Since becoming a US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kennedy has repeatedly contradicting developing science and established on autism.
He presented his previously contested description of autism as an epidemic, said it was avoidable and suggested that it was caused by an “environmental toxin”, in part because he knew no person with autism of his age.
“This is a predictable disease. We know it is an environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics,” he said, without evidence, in an auditorium crowded with reporters and supporters of his movement “Make America Healthy Again” (makes America healthy again).
Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, has long advocated a contested connection between vaccines and autism.
He did not mention vaccines on Wednesday, referring to “medicines” in a list of items that, according to him, would be analyzed, such as mold, air, water, food and others, without providing evidence for their inclusion.
Government plans for studies include measles, mumps and rubella vaccine analysis, as previously reported by Reuters. Previous scientific studies have found no connection between vaccines and autism.
The causes of autism They are not clear, although experts say that it probably results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Last week Kennedy said US national health institutes would determine by September the causes of autism – an issue that has challenged scientists for decades.
Autism has a strong genetic component, said Karen Pierce, a codirer of the University of California Autism Center of Autism in San Diego, but this cannot explain all cases of autism. She noted that only about 10% of cases can be explained by a single specific gene.
This content was originally published in US Health Chief points out “environmental toxins” as a cause of autism on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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