USDA bird flu research in China sparks congressional concern

Research on highly pathogenic strains of bird flu conducted by the Department of Agriculture in affiliation with Chinese Communist Party scientific researchers is drawing renewed scrutiny from representatives in Congress following the growing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows this month.

A bipartisan group of representatives in the House began probing the USDA this month regarding two collaborative research projects with the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducting potentially dangerous research on several strains of avian influenza that are genetically similar to the H5N1 strain currently circulating in the United States.

This heightened scrutiny comes as outside observers of the bird flu outbreak note that the situation is eerily similar to the secrecy of January and February 2020 before the official beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) joined a group of 20 legislators in sending a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilkas on April 12, saying they were “disturbed” that U.S. taxpayer funds were being allocated for research that “could potentially generate dangerous new lab-created virus strains that threaten our national security and public health.”

Griffith told the Washington Examiner this week that he is highly concerned about the USDA’s research, considering the history of biosecurity failures in U.S.-funded virus research in China.

“I am skeptical with U.S. money going to viral research in China after the failures of EcoHealth Alliance and Wuhan Institute of Virology to properly document their research on coronavirus,” Griffith said.

Of chief concern for the representatives is a project between the USDA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, or CAS, to examine the avian flu viruses that “pose the greatest current risk to both animals and humans.” Experimentation in the project includes “wet-lab virology” performed on living organisms and in test tubes.

The Chinese government lists CAS as an integral part of the CCP’s organizational structure. CAS is also tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which conducted controversial research on SARS-CoV viruses in the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public concern over H5N1 began to grow in March following the second human infection of the virus in the U.S., marking the first time a dairy worker was infected by a cow. Federal agencies, including the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration, call the virus the “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza,” or HPAI.

World Health Organization Chief Scientist Jeremy Farrar subsequently called avian-to-bovine transmission of HPAI in the U.S. an “enormous concern,” highlighting the need for scientists to monitor the evolution of the virus and the urgent need to develop vaccination to stop the spread among animal populations.

Scientists affiliated with the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, or GISAID, told CNN on Tuesday that the USDA is not being transparent regarding sequencing data from samples of the virus, a critical tool for scientists to be able to monitor the virus’s mutations.

The USDA did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.

Although the risk of direct bovine-to-human transmission of the virus is low for members of the general population who are not in daily contact with livestock, researchers continue to monitor the degree to which virus particles appear in the commercial dairy supply.

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Independent testing of 150 pasteurized milk samples across the country, including from herds that have tested positive for H5N1, found that 58 samples tested positive for denuded virus particles. Although these particles are not capable of infecting humans, the study indicates that the presence of the virus in commercial milk supplies may be higher than previously understood.

“To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe. Results from multiple studies will be made available in the next few days to weeks,” the FDA said on Tuesday. “We recognize the importance of releasing further, actionable information.”