A STUDY conducted by a public health team has found an alarming cluster of local government areas in rural Victoria with rates of Parkinson’s disease up to 78pc higher than the state average.
The research found the rate of Parkinson's is 78 per cent higher than the state average of .5 per cent in the Buloke Shire, 76pc higher in Horsham Rural City, 57pc higher in Northern Grampians and 34pc higher in Yarriambiack. The four municipalities border each other.
Study leader Darshini Ayton said the results were statistically significant and called for further research into possible causes.
She said pesticides used throughout the region were one potential cause that needed to be investigated further.
“We were alerted to possible links between pesticides both from overseas studies into the topic and through my husband, Scott, who is a neurologist, who told me they use pesticides at high rates to cause Parkinson’s in a laboratory environment.”
Dr Ayton was quick to stress her work was a public health study rather than toxicology research, but said funding was required for further work.
“One of the key themes across this region is the use of crop pesticides.”
The plant protection sector quickly pointed out the study did not have proven correlation between the Parkinson’s cluster and use of pesticides.
“It’s important not to mislead the public based on an untested correlation,” the head of CropLife Australia, the plant protection sector national peak body, Matthew Cossey said.
“Too many cases of making assumptions based on correlation have led to obscuring the real cause of problems.”
Birchip district farmer and Buloke shire resident Ian McClelland said while the findings were concerning, it was important to keep them in context.
“The findings are a bit worrying but equally it is only the start for more research, not a definitive answer in its own right,” Mr McClelland, a former chairman of Birchip Cropping Group, said.
“It would be nice to see more work on the matter, perhaps the correlation might be between the way the pesticides were used 20 years ago and not in the modern era, we need to find these things out.”
Dr Ayton confirmed this could be the case.
“This cluster could relate to decades old practices, one thing we do know is that exposure can present in the disease much later, so that is another avenue to investigate.
“There are a lot of potential causes, which is why it will be so tricky to look at from a toxicology point of view.”
Previous media reports highlighted potential links between barley and pulse production and the cluster, but Dr Ayton said this potential link was solely based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data which showed higher than average rates of these crops being grown in the area, not to specific herbicides.
“Again, it was not a toxicology study.”
Two pesticides Dr Ayton suggested could merit further research into possible links with Parkinson’s disease were paraquat and rotenone.
“These are the chemicals used to induce Parkinson’s in the laboratory,” she said
Paraquat is an important herbicide in Australia, used extensively as a broad spectrum weed killer in formulations such as the trade name Spray Seed, while rotenone is most commonly known as an insecticide under the name Derris Dust, and used frequently in the home garden.
Mr McClelland said it was important industry highlighted there was no risk to consumers.
“Our food passes strict safety tests.”
Toxicology overseas studies back his point, with workers exposed to pesticides over a long period of time in the most danger.
Dr Ayton said there had been similar findings in other states.
“Griffith University in Queensland found areas in rural Queensland with similarly raised levels of Parkinson’s disease.”
The Victorian research was conducted by Monash University and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health on behalf of Parkinson’s Victoria.
