U.S. health officials only recently admitted to funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China — but for decades, the U.S. government has funded the same type of dangerous research on bird flu in the U.S.
And that research continues today.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — even the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — have funded or are funding research to make bird flu more pathogenic and/or more transmissible in mammals.
Appearing on the “Kim Iversen Show” on May 16, Brian Hooker, Ph.D., Children’s Health Defense chief scientific officer, said he is concerned the U.S. is “making agents of … biological destruction” that could “put us into another pandemic.”
Hooker echoed warnings by former CDC Director Robert Redfield, who suggested the next pandemic would be sparked by a leak from a lab working to humanize bird flu viruses.
Former CDC Director Robert Redfield: 1). “I’m obviously most worried about bird flu.” 2). “Right now it takes a five amino acid change to make it effectively infecting humans.” 3). “That’s a pretty heavy species barrier…” 4). “But in the laboratory, I could make it highly… Show more
Hooker told Iversen the CDC’s Influenza Division infected ferrets with the currently circulating H5N1 avian influenza strain, then infected human lung cells, to make the virus more infective to humans.
Their justification, he said, is to be prepared for a zoonotic outbreak — where a virus from a bird or other animal jumps to humans.
Hooker told Iversen the CDC’s Influenza Division infected ferrets with the currently circulating H5N1 avian influenza strain, then infected human lung cells, to make the virus more infective to humans.
Their justification, he said, is to be prepared for a zoonotic outbreak — where a virus from a bird or other animal jumps to humans.
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