The US government is spending $1 million of US taxpayer money to fund gain-of-function experiments with dangerous bird flu viruses in collaboration with Chinese scientists.
The research involves infecting ducks and geese with different strains to make them more transmissible and infectious, and studying the viruses’ potential to “jump to mammalian hosts,” according to the research documents.
It is funded through the United States Department of Agriculture and will take place at sites in Georgia, Beijing and Edinburgh in Scotland.
Comes despite such research being restricted in 2022 and growing concerns that a dubious Chinese investigation may have started the COVID-19 pandemic.
The photo of the animal experimenters is from inside the USDA lab that is working with Chinese government scientists on bird flu gain-of-function research.
The above shows a caged chicken from inside the USDA laboratory that is working with Chinese government scientists on bird flu gain-of-function research.
The above shows a caged chicken from inside the USDA laboratory that is working with Chinese government scientists on bird flu gain-of-function research.
The documents were obtained by campaign group The White Coat Waste Project and shared with DailyMail.com.
The documents show that funding for avian virus research began in April 2021 and is scheduled to continue until March 2026.
The specific viruses the researchers will work with include H5NX, H7N9 and H9N2.
A 2023 study described H5NX viruses as “highly pathogenic” with the ability to cause neurological complications in humans.
The H7N9 strain first infected humans and animals in China in March 2013 and the World Health Organization said it is worrying “because most patients have become seriously ill.”
The H9N2 strain has been found in pigeons in China and, while it has lower pathogenicity than the other strains, it can still infect humans.
The main collaborators on the project are the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, a Wuhan partner laboratory.
Additionally, one of the USDA-funded researchers is Wenju Liu, affiliated with the WIV, which is believed to have caused the Covid pandemic, and a board member of a scientific journal, who works with Zheng-Li Shi. who is known as the ‘bat lady’ for her extensive work on bat coronaviruses.
Different aspects of the research are planned to be carried out at multiple locations, including poultry research centers in Athens, Georgia, at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh. and at the Chinese academy in Beijing.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seeking more information about the department’s current research funding.
One of the USDA-funded researchers is Wenju Liu, a WIV affiliate and scientific journal board member, who works with Zheng-Li Shi, known as the “bat lady” for her extensive work. about bat coronaviruses
The research involves infecting ducks and geese with bird flu viruses in gain-of-function experiments to make the diseases more transmissible and infectious.
The specific viruses the researchers will work with include H5NX, H7N9 and H9N2.
Between 2015 and 2023, at least seven U.S. entities provided NIH grants to laboratories in China conducting animal experiments, totaling $3,306,061.
Shi Zhengli, nicknamed the “Bat Lady” or “Bat Woman” for her work on bat coronaviruses, is pictured in a laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. She searched for dozens of deadly Covid-like viruses in bat caves and studied them at the WIV
Justin Goodman, senior vice president of WCW, said in a statement to DailyMail.com: “It is reckless and indefensible for…bureaucrats to fund dangerous gain-of-function studies of bird flu involving virus experimenters from the notorious animal laboratory of Wuhan that Likely Caused COVID and its CCP-led parent organization, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“Taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for animal experiments with foreign adversaries that boost viruses and can cause pandemics or create biological weapons.”
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seeking more information about the department’s current research funding.
Following WCW’s release of the documents, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, requesting more information about the current funding of the research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. department.
The letter said: “I was concerned to learn from the nonprofit group White Coat Waste Project that the USDA is supporting experiments involving a “highly pathogenic avian influenza virus” that poses a “risk to both animals and humans.” “.
Senator Ernst said in a statement to DailyMail.com: ‘The health and safety of Americans is too important to improvise, and Biden’s USDA should have been more apprehensive before sending taxpayer dollars to collaborate with (China ) in risky research on bird flu. .
‘You should know by now to suspect a game of “birds” when it comes to researchers who have links to the dangerous Wuhan lab, and simply switching from bats to birds raises concerns that they are creating more pathogens with pandemic potential.
‘Here’s my warning: The Biden administration should tread carefully until cutting off every last cent that goes to our adversaries. “We cannot allow what happened in Wuhan to happen again.”
DailyMail.com has contacted the USDA for comment.