An increasing number of nations bordering Russia place Pentagon-funded bio-labs on their territories. There are known cases when these labs tested experimental, not fully researched drugs. Research was conducted on infections lethal to humans: atypical plague and haemorrhagic fevers. For example, we are talking about the work of the Lugar Centre in Georgia. It is located less than 90 kilometres from the Russian border. It is a known that as a result of "experimental" treatments at this centre, dozens of people have died, and many of them died practically instantaneously, within a day. All these facts cause grave concern, says Anna Popova, head of Russia's Food Safety Regulator "Rospotrebnadzor" and Russian Federation's Sanitary Medicine Doctor General.
"The question is in whose interests such laboratories conduct their work. Nations admitting such "helpers" risk losing their sovereignty in terms of biological safety and create a hazard for their own citizens, first of all," Anna Popova said. "In Georgia, there are 10 biolaboratories that are managed by the US military agency [Department of Defense]. There are 10 [such labs] in Kazakhstan, three in Uzbekistan, eight in Azerbaijan, seven in Armenia and 11 in Ukraine."
According to the head of Rospotrebnadzor, the risks for the biological safety of the Russian Federation are increasing as well. The fact that through this work, new technologies for drones capable of delivering bloodsucking insects that can carry dangerous infectious diseases were created and patented is of utmost concern. A single such drone is capable of disseminating up to 50,000 infected mosquitoes.
"As a preventative anti-outbreak measure, Rospotrebnadzor is constantly monitoring mosquitoes on the Black Sea coast of Krasnodar Territory," Anna Popova said. "In 2018, the area of anti-mosquito spraying was more than 2,000 hectares."
The epidemiological situation in Ukraine is already becoming critical: diphtheria, measles, tuberculosis, polio… Outbreaks turn into full-fledged epidemics. And the system of the sanitary-epidemiological control has been totally decimated. Against this backdrop, there are 11 operational US laboratories in Ukraine.
"Launching another such lab was planned in Simferopol," says Anna Popova. "Collection of biomaterial from Crimea was set up with the view to transport it to the Western nations' labs, including 105 samples of human blood serum."
What can be the danger of these US labs at the borders with Russia, and what biological risks do they carry? Anna Popova cites the Ebola fever that was ravaging Africa several years ago. Upon careful studying of the virus strains, Russian scientists came to the conclusion that the outbreak that claimed the lives of tens of thousands started in the area where a US virology lab had been located. Furthermore, there are reasons to believe that the most dangerous, atypical strain of Ebola virus was artificially modified through genetic engineering.
Here is another, closer example. In the summer of 2018, a group of Russian children returned from Georgia in a very dire condition afflicted by an acute intestinal virus. The children were given all the necessary medical assistance. However, when the scientists studied the cause, it turned out that this strain had not been previously documented. It could also have been genetically modified.
How well is Russia protected against these threats? What guarantees our safety? This was the question posed by Rossiyskaya Gazeta correspondent to Anna Popova.
"An effective system of counteracting epidemiological threats has been created in Russia. This is the result of the intensive and, most importantly, systemic work of many services and agencies," she says. "Let me give you an example. The cases of measles in Russia are 15 per million people. In Europe there are 70, in Ukraine more than 300. In Georgia, there are more than 800 cases."
In addition, according to Anna Popova, Russian algorithms and outbreak rapid reaction protocols are some of the most effective in the world, and are used by many countries, including airport biosafety protocols.
"Population migration will only increase. This is one more risk of modern times. Infections spread very rapidly. Nowadays, airlines carry more than 4 billion people a year," Anna Popova emphasised. "We must take these rising risks into account."