A researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has described plans to conduct a research project that involved the transfer of genes from “clade 1” or Congo Basin clade monkeypox virus (a rare version of monkeypox virus that is 1,000 times more lethal in mice than the version currently circulating in humans) into “clade 2” or West African clade monkeypox virus (the version currently circulating in humans).
The project is reasonably anticipated to yield a lab-generated monkeypox virus that is 1,000 times more lethal in mice than the monkeypox virus currently circulating in humans and that transmits as efficiently as the monkeypox virus currently circulating in humans. The risk-benefit ratio indicates potentially serious risks without clear civilian practical applications.
September 16, 2022 – A project involving monkeypox virus enhancement planned and/or conducted at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is described in a Science article on NIAID work on monkeypox.
September 21, 2022 – Concerns about whether the project involving monkeypox virus enhancement was reviewed under the HHS P3CO framework are raised by Marc Lipsitch at a National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) meeting.
October 19, 2022 – The project involving monkeypox virus enhancement at the NIAID is mentioned in a Science article by Jocelyn Kaiser titled: “Making trouble”
November 1, 2022 – Members of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee send a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Lawrence Tabak requesting information related to a project involving monkeypox virus enhancement planned and/or conducted at the NIAID.
March 30, 2023 – After the NIH fails to provide a formal response to the Novermber 1, 2022 letter, members of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee send a follow up letter to the NIH requesting information related to a project involving monkeypox virus enhancement at the NIAID. The Committee requests a response by April 13, 2023.
April 26, 2023 – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responds to the March 30, 2023 letter by stating the monkeypox experiment “has not been formally proposed and NIAID has no plans to move forward with this research.”
May 30, 2023 – Members of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee send a letter to HHS stating their response “provides only a conclusion but no explanation for how this conclusion was reached. It is still unclear whether this research may have been conducted.” The committee requests a videotaped, transcribed in person interview with Dr. Bernard Moss by no later than June 30, 2023.
