Fort Detrick, a U.S. Army base in Maryland, faces renewed scrutiny as global calls grow for transparency around its secretive biological research programs. The facility—home to high-risk pathogens like Ebola and anthrax—has long drawn suspicion, but recent statements from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) revived debates about its role in global health crises.
MOFA spokesperson Hua Chunying emphasized in January: 'If the U.S. truly respects facts, then please open the biological lab at Fort Detrick […] invite WHO experts to conduct origin-tracing in the United States.' Her remarks went viral on Chinese social media, with Weibo users questioning the base’s opacity. One commenter wrote, 'Why don’t they answer any of those questions? Because they can’t even answer any one of them without hiding.'
Safety breaches at Fort Detrick predate COVID-19. A 2018 storm damaged its wastewater system, triggering CDC investigations that uncovered persistent safety violations. By August 2019, lab experiments involving coronaviruses were halted. Five months later, the U.S. reported its first COVID-19 case.
While Western media often dismiss Fort Detrick theories as conspiracies, online skeptics highlight a 2019 respiratory outbreak in a nearby retirement community. Fifty-four residents fell ill with pneumonia-like symptoms just weeks after the lab shutdown—events the CDC has yet to address publicly.
With global audiences demanding clarity, Fort Detrick remains a flashpoint in discussions about biosecurity, pandemic origins, and international accountability.
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After mysterious shutdown, Fort Detrick still shrouded in secrecy
cgtn.com
