U.S. media reveals the secret of Fort Detrick virus, calls for neutral investigation

U.S. media reveals the secret of Fort Detrick virus, calls for neutral investigation

Staff at the US Army Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick (data map) Staff at the US Army Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick (data map)

　　 Overseas Network, August 1st. On July 30, local time, the US "Boston Globe" published an article entitled "America Has Its Own Virus Secret". Stephen Kanazawa, a senior researcher at the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, pointed out in the article that Fort Detrick in the United States not only has a long history of studying deadly pathogens, but also produces various biological weapons and toxic agents. He is accused of "planning famine and disease". There have been many safety incidents in the laboratory, and a neutral investigation should be conducted.

　　 The article is excerpted as follows:

　　 Fort Detrick is about an hour’s drive from Washington, D.C. This laboratory has been conducting secret research on bacteria, poisons, and plagues for several generations, and is one of the most deadly pathogens in the world. When the United States has a biological warfare project, the base will definitely be located in Fort Detrick, because scientific researchers there have the world's most concentrated knowledge of plagues, bacteria, and poisons.

Fort Detrick covers an area of more than 13,000 acres and is adjacent to the bustling town of Frederick, Maryland. I spent half a day there a few years ago and discovered that it is both a mysterious relic and an ultra-modern one. Research institutions.

　　During the Cold War, Fort Detrick was "lively." Scientists there infect mosquitoes with pathogenic bacteria, and make fleas, ticks, ants, lice, and mice into biological weapons; cultivate spores that cause parasitic diseases in crops and livestock; produce gas that can be used to kill individuals or groups Sol toxin. Chemists from the US Central Intelligence Agency have also established a laboratory there to produce deadly potions, powders, sprays, toothpaste and cigars for assassination of foreign leaders. In the 21 months between 1959 and 1961, some religious believers and other activists held vigil protests outside Fort Detrick, accusing the base of existence for "planning famine and disease."

　　 In 1969, the then-U.S. President Nixon ordered the cessation of the research and development of all biological weapons except for "the necessary research to determine the defensive measures." Later, the United States accepted a treaty prohibiting the development of all biological weapons "in amounts beyond the scope of defense, protection, and other peaceful uses", and part of Fort Detrick was transformed into a cancer research center. However, Fort Detrick remains the biological warfare research center of the United States.

　　Scientists at Fort Detrick study Ebola, Bolivian Haemorrhagic Fever and other terrible diseases. The laboratory there was supposed to be sealed, but something went wrong. A U.S. Army report stated that in 2002, anthrax spores leaked from the laboratory and "multiple contamination incidents may have occurred." In 2019, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered the cessation of research at Fort Detrick’s most advanced safety experiment because the laboratory "does not have a perfect system for purifying wastewater." However, the laboratory, officially called the "U.S. Army Institute of Infectious Diseases", reopened a few months later. The commander of the laboratory claimed that he welcomed the reopening because the laboratory "has been playing a key role in national defense for more than 50 years."

　　 US law prohibits the development of biological weapons, but there is an obvious loophole: "defensive" research is allowed. In order to defend against possible biological attacks, American laboratories will manufacture and test toxins that the enemy may use. However, these toxins can also be considered as prototype weapons for future operations. In this legal gray area, how intensive is the work of scientists? A neutral survey of biological laboratories may help answer this question.