Russian Ministry Of Defense Claims The U.S. Is Preparing To Unleash A New Pandemic

Full video of Russian MoD’s Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov report on how the US has started preparing for a new pandemic, new information about Pentagon's biological warfare program and documents uncovered during the special operation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/l1YIz7f2vL

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) August 16, 2023

RT: US military could create ‘global biological crisis’ – Russian MOD 

The Pentagon is especially interested in studying infections that could be used as weapons, Moscow has claimed 

The US military is studying pathogens that could be used as biological weapons as the nation prepares for a potential new pandemic, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, claimed on Wednesday. 

The list of diseases that have attracted the attention of US specialists includes anthrax, tularemia, and various coronaviruses, Kirillov told a media briefing. Some of these pathogens are listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “high-priority” threats that can be used as “bioterrorism agents.”  

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Russian Ministry Of Defense Claims The U.S. Is Preparing To Unleash A New Pandemic  

Russian general highlights role of US medical research institute in bioprograms in Ukraine -- TASS  

Diseases under Pentagon microscope often spread via pandemics — Russian Defense Ministry -- TASS  

Pentagon Bio-Research in Ukraine Should be Assessed by Relevant Int'l Bodies - Russian Embassy -- Sputnik

Russia claims US preparing for 'new pandemic' by searching for virus mutations -- Anadolu Agency  

Russian defense ministry says US plotting another pandemic -- MEHR News Agency

Explosion And Fire Hits Russia's Largest Virus Lab Which Houses Plague, Smallpox, Ebola And Other Deadly Viruse

The State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology, known as Vector (pictured), released a statement yesterday saying a gas cylinder exploded on the fifth floor

Daily Mail: Gas explosion rips through Russian laboratory containing smallpox, Ebola and HIV viruses

* Explosion at the State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology in Siberia
* Laboratory is one of two places in the world that houses the smallpox disease
* Blast blew the windows out and one worker was left with third degree burns

A fire caused by a gas explosion has torn through a Russian laboratory that houses viruses including smallpox, Ebola and HIV.

The State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology, known as Vector, released a statement yesterday saying a gas cylinder exploded on the fifth floor.

Located in Koltsovo, in the Novosibirsk region of Siberia, the site was a nexus for biological warfare development during the Soviet era.

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WNU Editor: I am sure no pathogens were released, but it raises concerns on how secure are these sites. 

More News On Today's Explosion And Fire At Russia's Vector Institute

Blast & fire hits major virus lab in Russia, where HIV, Ebola & anthrax strains are stored -- RT
Explosion Hits Russian Lab That Houses Smallpox, Ebola Viruses -- Moscow Times
Novosibirsk: 'No risk' after blast and fire at Russian lethal virus lab -- BBC
Explosion at Russian research lab that stores smallpox virus: officials -- FOX News
Blast sparks fire at Russian laboratory housing smallpox virus -- The Guardian
A gas explosion ripped through a Russian lab storing deadly viruses like smallpox, anthrax, and Ebola -- Insider
An explosion rocked a Russian research facility known for housing the smallpox virus -- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Russia Confirms Explosion At Ex Bioweapons Lab Storing Ebola, Smallpox And Plague -- Forbes
Uhh, Part of the Facility Where Russia Stores Smallpox and Ebola Exploded -- Gizmodo
Explosion Hits Russia's Largest Virus Lab Which Houses Plague, Smallpox, Ebola And Other Deadly Viruses -- Zero Hedge

Advances In Technology Has Raised The Risk Of A New Generation Of Bio-Weapons

The Guardian: Synthetic biology raises risk of new bioweapons, US report warns

Report warns that swift progress in our ability to manufacture viruses is making us vulnerable to biological attacks

The rapid rise of synthetic biology, a futuristic field of science that seeks to master the machinery of life, has raised the risk of a new generation of bioweapons, according a major US report into the state of the art.

Advances in the area mean that scientists now have the capability to recreate dangerous viruses from scratch; make harmful bacteria more deadly; and modify common microbes so that they churn out lethal toxins once they enter the body.

The three scenarios are picked out as threats of highest concern in a review of the field published on Tuesday by the US National Academy of Sciences at the request of the Department of Defense. The report was commissioned to flag up ways in which the powerful technology might be abused, and to focus minds on how best to prepare.

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WNU Editor: My brother works as a researcher in the biotech field in the Bay area. He has been telling me for the past few years that advances in technology will make it possible to manufacture bio-weapons that we could only imagine. It looks like that day is now. The report is here.

U.S. to Announce Framework for Bioweapons Treaty Policy in Geneva

From Global Security Newswire:

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is expected to reveal its approach to controlling biological weapons at a key international meeting next week, and a number of experts hope the new U.S. policy will help reduce global vulnerabilities and strengthen implementation of the 1975 Biological Weapons Convention.

The pact's 165 member states are expected to gather in an annual meeting taking place Dec. 7-11 in Geneva, Switzerland. The event could set the tone on global objectives for limiting bioweapons in the run-up to a formal review conference in 2011, according to those following the issue.

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My Comment: The UN has not been successful in stopping rogue states like North Korea and Iran from working on and developing nuclear weapons .... how can they be successful with biological weapons .... weapons that are easier to hide and harder to detect.

I guess the member states have to show the world that they are (at least) trying their best.

Pentagon: Stop Biothreats Before They Spread

From The Danger Room:

Viruses are spreading faster than ever — it took the Swine Flu less than a month to infect over 1,800 people in 72 countries. No wonder the Pentagon is looking to turbocharge the response to pathogens, stopping the bugs before they even start.

Darpa’s soliciting proposals for a four-step program to stop bio-threats before they spread, and eventually prevent infection entirely. Timeline: Seven days.

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My Comment: I find it hard to believe that any institution (even one from the Pentagon) can stop viral threats when they first arise. The best that we can do is contain it as best as possible .... but in the end we must except the inevitable .... these pathogens will always find a way to spread elsewhere.

Insects Can Also Be Used As Weapons Of Terror

Mediterranean fruit fly (L.A. Times)

Could Ecoterrorists Let Slip The Bugs O War? -- Times Online

Insects can spread disease and destroy crops with devastating speed. Do not underestimate their potential as weapons.

The terrorists' letter arrived at the Mayor of Los Angeles's office on November 30, 1989. A group calling itself “the Breeders” claimed to have released the Mediterranean fruit fly in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and threatened to expand their attack to the San Joaquin Valley, an important centre of Californian agriculture.

With perverse logic, they said that unless the Government stopped using pesticides they would assure a cataclysmic infestation that would lead to the quarantining of California produce, costing 132,000 jobs and $13.4 billion in lost trade.

The infestation was real enough. It was ended by heavy spraying. It is still not known if ecoterrorists were behind it, but the panic it engendered shows that “the Breeders” were flirting with a powerful weapon.

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My Comment: It does not take much to cause devastation and economic loss on an enormous scale. Why spend millions in building a bio weapon .... just smuggle in a large number of fruit flies.

Report Sounds Alarm Over Bioterror

From The Washington Post:

Bipartisan Study Finds Insufficient Laboratory Safeguards, Loose Regulation

Seven years after the 2001 anthrax attacks, a congressionally ordered study finds a growing threat of biological terrorism and calls for aggressive defenses on par with those used to prevent a terrorist nuclear detonation.

Due for release next week, a draft of the study warns that future bioterrorists may use new technology to make synthetic versions of killers such as Ebola, or genetically modified germs designed to resist ordinary vaccines and antibiotics.

The bipartisan report faults the Bush administration for devoting insufficient resources to prevent an attack and says U.S. policies have at times impeded international biodefense efforts while promoting the rapid growth of a network of domestic laboratories possessing the world's most dangerous pathogens.

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My Comment: A massive terror attack that is just waiting to happen.

Has Biodefense Spending Made Us Safer -- A Commentary

Postal Anthrax Aftermath: Has Biodefense Spending Made Us Safer? -- Scientific American

The Anthrax attacks in 2001 led to a massive increase in biodefense funding, which critics claim has done more harm than good.

As the Federal Bureau of Investigation was about to move in, U.S. Army biodefense scientist Bruce Ivins committed suicide, thus possibly closing the chapter on the first—and so far only—fatal bioattack in U.S. history. The FBI alleges that Ivins, who worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Md., mailed anthrax-laden letters in September and October 2001 that killed five people. The incidents sparked a massive infusion of research funds to counter civilian bioterrorism, $41 billion spread over seven federal departments and agencies. Yet some observers argue that those funds have done little to guard against another bioterror incident, especially if the FBI is right about Ivins.

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Security Lapses At Our Top Bio-Labs

New Lab Security Report May Signal Need for Pause -- Yahoo News/AP

WASHINGTON – Another frightening new government report is heightening fears about the safety of U.S. biodefense laboratories that study some of the world's deadliest germs. The latest worry: Intruders could easily break into two of the labs due to lax security.

Now some lawmakers and members of a new citizen coalition are asking whether it's time for a timeout in the expansion of the Bush administration's biowarfare defense program.

The Bush administration decided after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that the nation needed to develop cures, drug treatments, vaccines and diagnostic tests to combat germs that could be used in a terrorist attack or accidentally released.

And, while U.S. officials say there are no known incidents where outsiders attacked anyone with germs from a U.S. lab, the FBI concluded last summer that a microbiologist at the Army's lab in Ft. Detrick, Md. was responsible for anthrax attacks in 2001.

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My Comment: This could be a nightmare unleashed .... but everyone is asleep at the wheel.

Here Is Something To Give Us Nightmares Tonight

An entrance to the Southwest Foundation for Biochemical Research facility in San Antonio, is seen Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2008. Intruders could easily break into two U.S. laboratories where researchers handle some of the world's deadliest germs, according to congressional investigators. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

High-Security Research Labs Not So High Security
-- Yahoo News/AP

WASHINGTON - Intruders could easily break into two U.S. laboratories where researchers handle some of the world's deadliest germs, according to congressional investigators. The Associated Press identified the vulnerable lab locations as Atlanta and San Antonio.

The serious security problems at the two labs were described by the Government Accountability Office in a report expected to be released publicly as early as Thursday. The GAO, Congress' investigative and auditing arm, did not identify the labs except to say they were classified as Biosafety Level 4 facilities, but the report included enough details for the AP — and others knowledgeable about such labs — to determine their locations. Biosafety Level 4 labs do research on deadly germs and toxins.

In Texas, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research features an outside window that looks directly into the room where the deadly germs are handled. The lab, which is privately run, also lacks many security cameras, intrusion detection alarms or visible armed guards at its public entrances. Officials there said they will tighten security.

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My Comment: Bio-Terrorism .... this is something that the modern world has yet to experience.

U.S. Controls Bird Flu Vaccines Over Bioweapon Fears

From Live Science:

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — When Indonesia's health minister stopped sending bird flu viruses to a research laboratory in the U.S. for fear Washington could use them to make biological weapons, Defense Secretary Robert Gates laughed and called it "the nuttiest thing" he'd ever heard.

Yet deep inside an 86-page supplement to United States export regulations is a single sentence that bars U.S. exports of vaccines for avian bird flu and dozens of other viruses to five countries designated "state sponsors of terrorism."

The reason: Fear that they will be used for biological warfare.

Under this little-known policy, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan may not get the vaccines unless they apply for special export licenses, which would be given or refused according to the discretion and timing of the U.S. Three of those nations — Iran, Cuba and Sudan — also are subject to a ban on all human pandemic influenza vaccines as part of a general U.S. embargo.

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My Comment: This is very scary sh__.

Biowarfare and Bioterror: The Future Is Now

From TCS Daily:

Since the invasion of Iraq and the collapse of Saddam Hussein's biological-weapons threat, people have breathed easier about the threat of bioterrorism and biological warfare. But recent developments suggest that this relaxation is unwarranted. Indeed, there's considerable evidence that we should be much more afraid than we are, or have been.

The first such warning comes from technology writer Paul Boutin, who recently set out to discover just how easy it would be for an amateur to create a dangerous biological weapon. The answer — as the title to his piece, "Biowar for Dummies" suggests — is "pretty easy, really." Instead of lethal genes, he inserted genes for fluorescence. Boutin writes:

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My Comment: The future IS now.