A senior Canadian federal scientist has alleged that the government shut down an investigation into a mystery brain illness in New Brunswick that he believes may have affected 350 people.

He is the second federal scientist to accuse the government of deliberately halting the investigation and to say that the caseload is higher than the government has acknowledged.

Health officials in the eastern province first said in 2021 that 40 people were suffering from an unexplained neurological condition. A year later, a committee assembled by the province determined that the patients probably had been misdiagnosed and were suffering from other diseases.

In a leaked email seen by the Guardian, Prof Samuel Weiss, a neuroscientist working for the Canadian federal agency responsible for funding medical research, wrote that the government had deliberately curtailed the search for an explanation.

    • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      It’s specifically affecting people in certain areas of NB. Far more likely the cause is tied back to Irving in some way.

      • psvrh@lemmy.ca
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        4 months ago

        Yeah, this.

        Irving owns NB, and if they want to kill a story or stop the government from looking into something, they’ll do it. I don’t think people outside of the Maritimes understand how bought-and-paid-for the media, the government and most businesses are by Irving.

    • LostWon@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      My first thought was misfolded prions. Sounds like one possible avenue of the potential harmful “environmental exposure” the microbiologist (and CJD researcher) in the article was talking about.

    • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      If they could have used covid to cover it up then they would have

      Also it was first spotted in 2019, not 2021 like the article says

      • aaaaace@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        4 months ago

        There is some question about the origin date for COVID 19, last I read. Some more traveled people suspect it’s earlier, but I don’t know.

        One thing is that most long covid came from version 1.

    • Auli@lemmy.ca
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      4 months ago

      Yes it’s long cocidninkybefeecting people in NB and effecting the brain.