The following article was first published on SHARYL ATTKISSON‘s free Substack
On May 7, 2025, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a complete halt to operations at the U.S. Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland. That following a shocking alleged act of sabotage.
Bhattacharya revealed the decision in a detailed thread on his X account (@NIHDirector_Jay).
He explained that he learned a contractor at the lab deliberately cut a hole in a co-worker’s biocontainment suit during a personal dispute, compromising critical safety protocols.
The incident, reportedly happened in early March but Bhattacharya says he did not learn of it until weeks later.
The Fort Detrick facility is part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at NIH which was for years run by Dr. Anthony Fauci. It’s one of the few high-security labs in North America designed to handle deadly pathogens such as Ebola, MERS, and avian influenza.
According to Bhattacharya’s post, the sabotage incident is part of a broader pattern of safety lapses at the lab, with issues dating back to the Biden administration. Sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Fox News, noted additional incidents in November 2024 and March 2025, pointing to a “poor culture of safety” that has persisted for years. The FBI has since launched an investigation into the security violations, highlighting concerns over the lab’s handling of select agents—pathogens with potential bioweapons applications.
Adding to the controversy, Richard H. Ebright, a prominent microbiologist and biosafety advocate, commented on X on May 7, 2025, noting that the lab’s operations are managed by Laulima Government Solutions, a Native Hawaiian LLC based in an office park in Orlando, Florida. The company oversees the facility under a $116 million minority-set-aside contract, a detail Ebright criticized as raising questions about proper oversight for such a high-risk operation.
Ebright also referenced a 2017 X thread where he had warned about the lack of psychological screening for researchers handling bioweapons agents, citing a case involving a murder suspect who worked with the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, at a similar facility. He argued that the absence of such screening, combined with the increased number of people who have access to select agents—now around 12,000—heightens the risk of bioterror incidents.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., supports the research pause, which began on April 30, 2025. During this period, all dangerous pathogens are reported to have been secured, and access to the facility has been limited to essential personnel only.
Bhattacharya emphasized in his X thread that the lab will not reopen until he is satisfied there is “zero risk to public safety,” stating, “No more lab-generated pandemics!”
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon reinforced this stance, telling Fox News, “NIH and HHS take the safety of our facilities and research very seriously. As soon as we found out about this incident, we took immediate action to issue the safety pause until we can correct the safety culture at this facility.”
The facility has faced scrutiny in the past. In 2022, Ebright posted on X about NIAID’s planned experiments at Fort Detrick involving monkeypox, where researchers intended to combine a globally circulating strain with a more lethal variant. He criticized the project for bypassing mandatory risk-benefit reviews under the HHS Potential Pandemic Pathogens Control and Oversight (P3CO) Framework, warning that a lab escape could spark an “epidemic with substantially more lethality.” This history of alleged oversight failures has fueled concerns about the lab’s ability to safely manage high-consequence pathogens.
Further compounding the issue, former NIAID Director Jeanne Marrazzo was dismissed in April 2025, partly due to her failure to address ongoing safety concerns at the facility, including poor documentation of select agents. The lab’s director, Connie Schmaljohn, was also placed on administrative leave following the March incident after failing to report it up the chain of command promptly, causing delays in addressing the breach.
The pause has drawn media attention, though not without controversy. Bhattacharya criticized Wired Magazine in his X thread for a May 2025 article that he claims downplayed the safety breaches and falsely framed Secretary Kennedy’s actions as anti-science. He argued that the publication ignored the lab’s documented risks and the responsible steps taken to protect the public.
As the investigation continues, the future of the Fort Detrick facility remains uncertain. For now, its operations remain on hold, with the incident serving as a stark reminder of the risks inherent in high-stakes biolab research and the urgent need for stricter safety and oversight measures.
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Funny how stuff works out, ain’t it? An evil act prevents an even more evil act. The snake swallows its tail once again.
Thanks Sharyl. It’s shocking to learn that there is no psychological screening done for employees of these Level 4 BioLabs, As to the controversial WIRED article, WIRED has adopted a “progressive” editorial stance, similar to Scientific American’s permanent shift to political advocacy. As a layperson who once subscribed to both, I’m deeply disappointed.
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