Russia looked into using monkeypox as biological weapon, claims ex soviet scientist Rare viral infection can be caught from infected wild animals in parts of west and central Africa, and can be transmitted by a person's breath or bodily fluidsBySteve Houghton
00:37, 21 May 2022
mirror.co.ukRussia looked into the possibility of using monkeypox as a biological weapon until at least the early 1990s, according to an expert on the subject.
Former Soviet Union bioweapons expert Colonel Kanat Alibekov – otherwise known as Kenneth Alibek - claimed in recently discovered interviews that the country had a programme to work out what viruses could be weaponised. He was deputy head of the USSR’s biological weapons programme until its collapse in 1991.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which can be caught from infected wild animals in parts of west and central Africa, and spread between humans via both droplet respiration or an infected person's bodily fluids. It comes as Health Secretary Sajid Javid revealed yesterday (Friday) there are now 20 cases currently in the UK.
Dr Alibekov said: "So we developed a special program to determine what 'model' viruses could be used instead of human smallpox. We tested vaccinia virus, mousepox virus, rabbitpox virus, and monkeypox virus as models for smallpox.
"The idea was that all research and development work would be conducted using these model viruses. Once we obtained a set of positive results, it would take just two weeks to conduct the same manipulations with smallpox virus and to stockpile the warfare agent. We would have in our arsenal a genetically altered smallpox virus that could replace the previous one."
The eradication of smallpox through global vaccine programmes forced the Soviets to ditch the idea. Dr Alibekov said in a 1998 interview that stray cases caused by an accidental leak in Russia would now be "difficult to explain to the international community".
Russian Ministry of Defence decided to continue working with monkeypox to "create future biological weapons" after the end of the USSR, the doctor added.He was previously brought before a United States Congress hearing, where he said he was "convinced that Russia’s biological weapons program has not been completely dismantled".
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Rusija je razmatrala korišćenje majmunskih boginja kao biološkog oružja, tvrdi bivši sovjetski naučnik. Retka virusna infekcija se može zaraziti od zaraženih divljih životinja u delovima zapadne i centralne Afrike i može se preneti ljudskim dahom ili telesnim tečnostima00:37, 21 Maj 2022.
Rusija je razmatrala mogućnost upotrebe majmunskih boginja kao biološkog oružja barem do ranih 1990-ih, prema ekspertu na tu temu.
Bivši stručnjak za biološko oružje iz Sovjetskog Saveza, pukovnik Kanat Alibekov – inače poznat kao Kenet Alibek – tvrdio je u nedavno otkrivenim intervjuima da zemlja ima program za utvrđivanje koji virusi mogu biti naoružani. Bio je zamenik šefa programa biološkog oružja SSSR-a do njegovog raspada 1991. godine.
Majmunske boginje su retka virusna infekcija koja se može zaraziti od zaraženih divljih životinja u delovima zapadne i centralne Afrike, a širi se između ljudi putem disanja kapljicama ili telesnim tečnostima zaražene osobe. To dolazi pošto je ministar zdravlja Sajid Javid juče (petak) otkrio da trenutno u Velikoj Britaniji ima 20 slučajeva.
Dr Alibekov je rekao: „Zato smo razvili poseban program da odredimo koji 'model' virusa mogu da se koriste umesto ljudskih boginja. Testirali smo virus vakcinije, virus mišjih boginja, virus zečjih boginja i virus majmunskih boginja kao modele za male boginje.
„Ideja je bila da se svi istraživački i razvojni radovi obavljaju korišćenjem ovih modela virusa. Kada dobijemo niz pozitivnih rezultata, trebalo bi samo dve nedelje da izvršimo iste manipulacije sa virusom malih boginja i da napravimo zalihe ratnog agensa. imaju u svom arsenalu genetski izmenjen virus malih boginja koji bi mogao da zameni prethodni."
Iskorenjivanje malih boginja kroz globalne programe vakcinacije nateralo je Sovjete da odbace tu ideju. Dr Alibekov je u intervjuu iz 1998. godine rekao da bi zalutale slučajeve izazvane slučajnim curenjem podataka u Rusiji sada bilo "teško objasniti međunarodnoj zajednici".
Rusko ministarstvo odbrane odlučilo je da nastavi rad sa majmunskim boginjama na „stvaranju budućeg biološkog oružja“ nakon raspada SSSR-a, dodao je doktor. Program nije u potpunosti razmontiran“.
Autor: Steve Houghton
Izvor:
mirror.co.uk