DISINFO: Bacteria causing Lyme disease may have leaked from US biolaboratory
SUMMARY
Leaks of deadly viruses from US biolaboratories are not rare. Such facilities are located all over the world. Given that biolabs were identified in Ukraine, it may also be possible that the Lyme disease originates from the Pentagon's biolaboratory. This is a quite easy way to weaken a nation.
RESPONSE
The claim is an attempt to advance the long-discredited narrative about US-funded bio laboratories. The conspiracy theory about alleged US Biolabs in countries bordering Russia is part of a years-long disinformation campaign led by the Kremlin. The claim is one of the many attempts to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Species of Borrelia bacteria, which are transmitted by blood-feeding ticks and cause Lyme disease, could not be produced in the Pentagon’s biolaboratory. Scientists have tracked the evolutionary history of these bacteria into hundreds and even thousands of years in the past. Back in 2019, Sam Telford, an internationally renowned expert in Lyme disease, authored an article titled, No, Lyme disease is not an escaped military bioweapon, despite what conspiracy theorists say. In this article Telford referred to scientific research proving conclusively that Borrelia bacteria were found much earlier than biolaboratories came into existence.
In fact, an autopsy of the famous, well-preserved Neolithic mummy of 5,300 years old, known as Iceman, found traces of such bacteria. “Perhaps most surprising, researchers found the genetic footprint of bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi in his DNA—making the Iceman the earliest known human infected by the bug that causes Lyme disease”, an article in National Geographic magazine said.
See more similar cases: Pentagon develops biological weapons in more than 470 biolabs around the world; The US is developing biological weapons in bio laboratories near the Russian border; US biolabs have been developing new biological weapons in Ukraine; US bio labs in Ukraine and Georgia conduct dangerous and non-transparent research; Russia suspects the US of developing biological weapons in secret laboratories around the World.