The Silent Time Bomb Now Affecting 1 in 54 Boys in the US

By Dr. Mercola

Total Video Length: 1:13:21

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But what leads to such devastatingly abnormal gut flora?

Dr. Campbell discovered that a large percentage of mothers of autistic children were bo

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has announced that 1 in 88 children in the U.S. are now diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD)ⁱ .

The number represents a 23 percent increase in the last two years and 78 percent in the past five years.

But that was just the average—the numbers were much greater for Hispanics (110 percent) and black children (91 percent).

The study, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reportⁱⁱ , also found that ASDs are nearly five times more common among boys than girls.

Broken down, the numbers equate to 1 in 54 boys with ASDs, and 1 in 252 girls. The updated estimates are based on data collected in 14 American communities during 2008.

These communities comprised over eight percent of all American 8-year-olds that year. Interestingly, the number of children with ASDs varied widely from site to site.

The highest prevalence was found in Utah, where a staggering 1 in 47 eight-year-olds were identified with some form of ASD.

New Jersey was also far higher than the average, with 1 in 49ⁱⁱⁱ . What's really going on here?

WHAT is Causing the Skyrocketing Increase in Autism Spectrum Disorders?

Personally, I don't see how anyone can look at a 78 percent increase of any health problem in a mere five years without snapping to attention. Prior to the CDC's announcement, the Canary Party, a citizens' action group on autism, rightfully predicted that the CDC would downplay the seriousness of these latest statistics.

On its new autism webpage, the CDC state they suspect some of the increase "is due to greater awareness and better identification" among some of the children.

But even taking that possibility into consideration, the statistics are truly shocking. How can one in 88 American children have some form of autistic disorder? In a normal, healthy environment, that just shouldn't happen. And the fact that it IS happening demands our immediate attention. Something is going very wrong, very fast...

While many are focusing their efforts on nailing down one culprit or another—vaccines being the perfect example—I believe taking such a narrow-minded approach can be extremely counterproductive. In my view, what we're seeing here is the culmination of what amounts to a perfect storm...

Research is now clearly showing that environmental factors play a primary role in the epidemic of autism spectrum disorders. But which environmental factors are to blame?

While vaccines have borne the brunt of people's suspicions, there's plenty of evidence suggesting there are multiple factors at play. The factor that prevents us from writing vaccines off as being harmless is the fact that toxic overload appears to be at the core of the problem, and many vaccines do indeed contribute to a child's overall toxic load. So while it's probably unreasonable to blame vaccines alone for the rapid rise in autism, it would be just as unreasonable to ignore their impact, and continue on with the one-fits-all vaccination policy as if everything is a-okay.