High levels of glyphosate in most patients with ‘atypical neurological diseases’: open letter [video]

This article was updated at approximately 5:45 p.m. on July 13 to include a response from the provincial government; it was updated again at 11 p.m. on July 14 with a statement from the federal government. 

A newly released open letter demands that the federal and provincial government launch an immediate investigation into New Brunswick’s so-called mystery disease.

“Over the past eight years, over 200 New Brunswickers have developed worrisome, atypical neurological diseases, most of whom also had high urine levels of glyphosate and other pesticides,” it states. 

James Paddle, a medical student living in Moncton, said he authored and circulated the letter after witnessing first-hand the suffering of patients with severe neurological symptoms, some of them teenagers. 

“I think as a medical student, and as a future doctor — and other doctors who have been working on this — I think it’s our duty to provide answers for our patients and to at least explain to them what is happening to them,” he said in an interview.

The letter is signed by several medical students and academics, along with the environmental group Stop Spraying NB and dozens of concerned citizens.

It comes less than four months after patients and their families, alongside members of the provincial Green Party, issued a similar call for more research. 

The letter calls for a “politically independent public health investigation into the circumstances of these New Brunswickers, and the collection of environmental data such as drinking water sources, including glyphosate, blue-green algae’s neurotoxin BMAA, and other pesticides.”

In an interview, Paddle explained that he met the patients as a student of Dr. Alier Marrero, the neurologist who first identified the contentious disease cluster.  

The provincial government previously referred to the phenomenon, which has made headlines internationally, as a neurological syndrome of unknown cause, but later cast doubt on Marrero’s findings.

Paddle declined to comment on those government reports. “I’m speaking purely as a medical student who has seen the lab results and who has spoken to these patients and their families,” he said. 

He said geographical clusters of patients have been observed across the province, with more than 200 patients in total. They include people from rural communities, along with Metro Moncton and some cases from Fredericton. 

Since most of Marrero’s patients come from the Vitalité health network, the sample of patients might be skewed towards the Francophone population, he said.

Still, a “significant cluster” exists in Sackville and the Tantramar area, he said.

Other locations include Albert County; the Petitcodiac and Salisbury area; Bouctouche and Sainte-Marie-de-Kent; Miramichi and nearby areas; the entire Acadian Peninsula, including Bathurst; Campbellton; Kedgwick; Edmundston; and the upper Saint John Valley. 

“There are clusters in every corner of this province,” he said.  

The letter doesn’t claim outright that glyphosate and other herbicides are causing neurological illnesses but states that it’s one of the leading hypotheses, along with blue-green algae blooms. 

“We have noticed that over the last two years, patients tend to become more ill and new cases emerge during the summer and autumn when herbicides and pesticides are sprayed,” it states. 

“It is possible that these patients are chronically exposed to glyphosate and other pesticides throughout the year from their food and water source and are acutely exposed during spraying season.

“This is still only a hypothesis based on our clinical evaluations of our patients, therefore further study including urine analysis is required to confirm this hypothetical relationship.”

Response from province, feds

The provincial government didn’t respond to an interview request, but provided a statement noting the results of a previous study.

“Public Health New Brunswick conducted an extensive investigation into the possibility of a neurological syndrome of unknown cause,” the statement said. 

“A team of independent neurologists and a team of epidemiologists were asked to investigate the situation.

“An oversight committee found no evidence that a neurological syndrome of unknown cause exists in New Brunswick, or that patients exhibited the same symptoms or shared any common illness. Their report is available online here.”

“National experts in disease surveillance, zoonotic diseases and special pathogens, food safety, industrial hygiene and the environment, veterinary pathology, environmental health, and Public Health, as well as experts with the Canadian [Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease] Surveillance System, the National Medical Laboratory and the Public Health Agency of Canada were consulted.

“It’s important to note the Public Health Agency of Canada supported the results of the investigation,” the statement said.

The statement added that medical professionals are required to report certain cases of a “notifiable disease or event” to provincial authorities.

“Since January 2023, the department has received a total of 14 notifications from Dr. Alier Marrero, which are being reviewed.
The Department of Health would welcome any additional reports of cases, which would allow the department to review the information and determine what, if any, supports or additional actions are needed,” the statement added in part. The full text is available here.

The feds weren’t forthcoming with an interview either.

A spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada provided statement on Friday evening, saying the agency is “is aware of this open letter and is reviewing it. PHAC extends its thoughts to the families and to those who have suffered and are suffering from neurodegenerative illnesses.”

The statement seemed to deflect responsibility back to the provincial government.

“The Government of New Brunswick is the lead authority on this matter,” it stated. “PHAC is available to support provinces and territories. Surge support available includes field epidemiology and other public health specialists, as well as infectious disease laboratory services and prion disease laboratory services.

“PHAC will continue to engage with the provinces and territories, partners and stakeholders [and] remains available to assist.”

Leaked memo

The issue first came to public attention in March 2021 with the leak of a memo from Public Health New Brunswick to health care professionals.

A few months later, in October 2021, a study published by Public Health concluded that “there are no specific behaviours, foods, or environmental exposures that can be identified as potential risk factors.”

Then in February 2022, Public Health released its final report concluding that no cluster ever existed.

Health Minister Bruce Fitch previously stated in the Legislative Assembly that “further investigation stopped because the Public Health Agency of Canada agreed with the findings that were found here in the Province of New Brunswick.” 

The federal government, at the time, “acknowledged the investigation’s findings that this cluster does not represent a neurological syndrome of unknown cause.”

The widespread use of glyphosate in New Brunswick’s forestry sector — notably by the powerful J.D. Irving company — is a longstanding source of controversy.

Activists point to research such as a 2019 study that links glyphosate-based herbicides to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

Regulators including Health Canada consider glyphosate safe for humans in small amounts, in accordance with label directions.

Paddle said the concentrations of glyphosate found in the affected patients are “extremely high.” 

Earlier this year, the environmental group Stop Spraying NB launched a pair of online maps showing areas of forest that have been sprayed with herbicide or approved for herbicide treatment.

The affected areas included some sections of protected watersheds.

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).