REVEALED: US is collaborating with Chinese scientists to make bird flu strains more infectious and deadly as part of $1m project - despite fears similar tests unleashed.
The White Coat Waste Project obtained the above photo and claims it shows animal experimenters inside the USDA lab that is working with Chinese scientists on bird flu research
The research involves infecting ducks and geese with different strains of viruses to make them more infectious, and study the viruses' potential to 'jump into mammalian hosts,' according to research documents. It is being funded through the US Department of Agriculture and collaborating studies will take place at sites in Georgia, Beijing and Edinburgh in Scotland. It comes despite similar research being restricted in 2022 and growing concerns that dubious Chinese studies may have started the Covid pandemic.
The above shows a caged chicken that the The White Coat Waste Project claims is from inside the USDA lab that is working with Chinese government scientists on bird flu research
The documents were obtained by the campaign group, The White Coat Waste Project, and shared with DailyMail.com. The papers show funding for the avian virus research began in April 2021 and it is slated to continue through March 2026. The USDA told this website the project was applied for in 2019 and approved in 2020. The specific viruses the researchers will work with include H5NX, H7N9 and H9N2, WCW reported.
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 of concern 'because most patients have become severely ill.' The H9N2 strain has been found in dove in China and while it has a lower pathogenicity than the other strains, it can still infect humans.
The main collaborators on the project are USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute - a Wuhan lab partner. Additionally, one of the researchers collaborating on the project is Wenju Liu, who is affiliated with the WIV - which is believed to have sparked the Covid pandemic - and a member of the board of a scientific journal, working with Zheng-Li Shi, who is known as the 'bat lady' for her extensive work on bat coronaviruses.
Different aspects of the research are slated to take place in multiple locations, including poultry research centers in Athens, Georgia, at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh and at the Chinese academy in Beijing. Allan Rodriguez, a spokesperson with the USDA, told DailyMail.com the $100million funding awarded to the research 'is only being committed to the specific components carried out by our own team located in Athens, Georgia, and is not any way contributing to research taking place in the UK or China.'
Republican Sen Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, seeking more information about the department's ongoing funding of the research.
One of the researchers collaborating on the project is Wenju Liu, who is affiliated with the WIV and a member of the board of a scientific journal, working with Zheng-Li Shi, who is known as the 'bat lady' for her extensive work on bat coronaviruses.
Sen Ernst's letter stated the USDA research will involve 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, WCW reported.
Between 2015 and 2023, at least seven US entities supplied NIH grant money to labs in China performing animal experiments, totaling $3,306,061
Shi Zhengli - dubbed the 'Bat Lady' or 'Bat Woman' for her work on bat coronaviruses - is pictured in a Wuhan Institute of Virology lab. She hunted down dozens of deadly Covid-like viruses in bat caves and studied them at the WIV
Justin Goodman, senior vice president of the WCW, said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'It's reckless and indefensible for... bureaucrats to bankroll dangerous avian flu gain-of-function studies involving virus experimenters from the notorious Wuhan animal lab that likely caused COVID and its CCP-run parent organization, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
'Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for animal experiments with foreign adversaries that soup up viruses and can cause pandemics or create bioweapons.'
Following the publication of the documents by WCW, Republican Sen Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the USDA, seeking more information about the department's ongoing funding of the research.
The letter read: 'I was troubled to learn from the non-profit group White Coat Waste Project that USDA is supporting experiments involving a "highly pathogenic avian influenza virus" that poses a "risk to both animals and humans."' Sen Ernst said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'The health and safety of Americans are too important to just wing it, and Biden’s USDA should have had more apprehension before sending any taxpayer dollars to collaborate with [China] on risky avian flu research.
'They should know by now to suspect "fowl" play when it comes to researchers who have ties to the dangerous Wuhan Lab, and simply switching from bats to birds causes concern that they are creating more pathogens of pandemic potential.
'Here’s my warning: the Biden administration should be walking on eggshells until they cut off every cent going to our adversaries. We cannot allow what happened in Wuhan to happen again.'
Despite the senators concerns, the USDA spokesperson told this website it is 'common for international researchers to conduct independent research that's connected to the same end goal' and that the research does not qualify as gain-of-function.
He added: 'Any time Senator Ernst has a question for USDA about our research or our commitment to helping America’s farmers mitigate animal diseases like highly pathogenic avian influenza, she should reach out to us directly before putting misinformation in a press release or public letter... and despite the senator's assertions, this is not gain-of-function research.
'Because animal diseases present a global threat, it is common for international researchers to conduct independent research that’s connected to the same end goal – but what Senator Ernst lays out in her letter is far off base from what’s actually transpiring, and on top of that is based on approval decisions that predate this Administration.'
- Research involves infecting birds with flu viruses to make them more infectious
- The USDA is spending more than $1million to fund the risky experiments
- READ MORE: US researchers found 'safety concerns' at Wuhan virus lab in 2017
The research involves infecting ducks and geese with different strains of viruses to make them more infectious, and study the viruses' potential to 'jump into mammalian hosts,' according to research documents. It is being funded through the US Department of Agriculture and collaborating studies will take place at sites in Georgia, Beijing and Edinburgh in Scotland. It comes despite similar research being restricted in 2022 and growing concerns that dubious Chinese studies may have started the Covid pandemic.
The documents were obtained by the campaign group, The White Coat Waste Project, and shared with DailyMail.com. The papers show funding for the avian virus research began in April 2021 and it is slated to continue through March 2026. The USDA told this website the project was applied for in 2019 and approved in 2020. The specific viruses the researchers will work with include H5NX, H7N9 and H9N2, WCW reported.
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 of concern 'because most patients have become severely ill.' The H9N2 strain has been found in dove in China and while it has a lower pathogenicity than the other strains, it can still infect humans.
The main collaborators on the project are USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute - a Wuhan lab partner. Additionally, one of the researchers collaborating on the project is Wenju Liu, who is affiliated with the WIV - which is believed to have sparked the Covid pandemic - and a member of the board of a scientific journal, working with Zheng-Li Shi, who is known as the 'bat lady' for her extensive work on bat coronaviruses.
Different aspects of the research are slated to take place in multiple locations, including poultry research centers in Athens, Georgia, at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh and at the Chinese academy in Beijing. Allan Rodriguez, a spokesperson with the USDA, told DailyMail.com the $100million funding awarded to the research 'is only being committed to the specific components carried out by our own team located in Athens, Georgia, and is not any way contributing to research taking place in the UK or China.'
Between 2015 and 2023, at least seven US entities supplied NIH grant money to labs in China performing animal experiments, totaling $3,306,061
Justin Goodman, senior vice president of the WCW, said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'It's reckless and indefensible for... bureaucrats to bankroll dangerous avian flu gain-of-function studies involving virus experimenters from the notorious Wuhan animal lab that likely caused COVID and its CCP-run parent organization, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
'Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for animal experiments with foreign adversaries that soup up viruses and can cause pandemics or create bioweapons.'
Following the publication of the documents by WCW, Republican Sen Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote a letter Thursday to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the USDA, seeking more information about the department's ongoing funding of the research.
The letter read: 'I was troubled to learn from the non-profit group White Coat Waste Project that USDA is supporting experiments involving a "highly pathogenic avian influenza virus" that poses a "risk to both animals and humans."' Sen Ernst said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'The health and safety of Americans are too important to just wing it, and Biden’s USDA should have had more apprehension before sending any taxpayer dollars to collaborate with [China] on risky avian flu research.
'They should know by now to suspect "fowl" play when it comes to researchers who have ties to the dangerous Wuhan Lab, and simply switching from bats to birds causes concern that they are creating more pathogens of pandemic potential.
'Here’s my warning: the Biden administration should be walking on eggshells until they cut off every cent going to our adversaries. We cannot allow what happened in Wuhan to happen again.'
Despite the senators concerns, the USDA spokesperson told this website it is 'common for international researchers to conduct independent research that's connected to the same end goal' and that the research does not qualify as gain-of-function.
He added: 'Any time Senator Ernst has a question for USDA about our research or our commitment to helping America’s farmers mitigate animal diseases like highly pathogenic avian influenza, she should reach out to us directly before putting misinformation in a press release or public letter... and despite the senator's assertions, this is not gain-of-function research.
'Because animal diseases present a global threat, it is common for international researchers to conduct independent research that’s connected to the same end goal – but what Senator Ernst lays out in her letter is far off base from what’s actually transpiring, and on top of that is based on approval decisions that predate this Administration.'
