Aerial Pesticide Spraying For Mosquitoes May Increase Developmental Delays, Autism Among Children

TIME (4/30, Sifferlin) reports that research presented the Pediatric Academic Societies 2016 meeting “finds a correlation between the aerial spraying of pesticides to kill mosquitoes and an increased risk of developmental delays and autism among kids.”

Newsweek (4/30, Schlanger) reported that after examining “rates of autism diagnoses in eight ZIP codes where aerial spraying of pyrethroids, a common class of insecticides, happens in the summer months, and” then comparing “them with those in 16 surrounding ZIP codes where mosquito control is done primarily through pellets distributed on the ground,” investigators “found a 25 percent higher rate of autism among the plane-sprayed group.”

Related Links:

— “The Link Between Mosquito Spraying and Autism,” Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, April 30, 2016.

Posted in In The News.