by Lance D Johnson, Natural News:
A taxpayer-funded virus lab in Colorado has confirmed a spate of 50 safety control lapses between 2020 and 2023, including workers bitten by COVID-infected hamsters, splashed with tuberculosis-infected mouse blood and scratched by rabid cats, yet the public was kept in the dark until a Freedom of Information Act request forced the university to release exclusive documents.
At the same time, a separate whistleblower letter alleges that an NIH-funded scientist at Montana’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories attempted to smuggle “dozens of vials” of foreign viruses onto U.S. soil from Africa, prompting a cover-up that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reportedly referred to the FBI.
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These two cases, unfolding hundreds of miles apart, lay bare a disturbing pattern: dangerous gain of function research continues behind closed doors; public trust is treated as expendable; and the institutions supposed to protect Americans are importing, concealing and normalizing biological risk.
Key points:
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- Colorado State University recorded 50 safety incidents from 2020 to 2023, including a COVID-infected hamster bite and a researcher contracting Zika virus from infected mosquitoes.
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- The university’s bio-safety committee documented breaches involving viral hemorrhagic fever, tuberculosis and rabies, but did not publicly disclose them until a nonprofit group requested records.
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- A whistleblower letter alleges NIH scientist Vincent Munster attempted to bring pathogen samples from the Democratic Republic of Congo into the U.S. without proper paperwork, and that NIH officials engaged in a “full cover-up.”
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- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed the legitimacy of the allegations and said Munster faces FBI investigation, with Kennedy adding, “I assume he is going to prison.”
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- Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., has demanded an HHS inspector general probe into Rocky Mountain Laboratories, warning that “even small lapses could put Montana communities at risk.”
The Colorado lab: a spate of breaches hidden from the public
The Colorado State University facility in Fort Collins, a city of roughly 168,000 people, has been a premier research site for studying bats since the 1980s and is regarded as a leading institution in infectious disease studies. Yet the documents uncovered by the Daily Mail show a string of accidents that undermine that reputation. Twelve researchers were bitten by mice carrying hemorrhagic fever. One researcher contracted Zika virus after experimenting with infected mosquitoes. Workers were splashed in the face with tuberculosis-infected mouse blood. Rabid cats scratched staff members. In nearly every case, the public was kept in the dark about potential health risks.
Dr. Bryce Nichols, commenting on the matter for the Daily Mail, noted that “dozens of laboratory accidents at CSU have become known only because of a public records request.” This lack of transparency is deeply concerning and underscores a disturbing trend in research ethics. Researchers have an ethical obligation to report any lab accidents that could pose risks to the public, but this does not always occur due to a combination of dishonesty and unethical behavior. The university has attempted to deflect blame for these incidents by citing stress from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet it is worth noting that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory setting similar to this one, meaning they are blaming their own unsafe and unethical practices on an event potentially caused by such behavior.
