CIA Bioweapon Program Under Scrutiny After Claims It May Be Linked To Lyme Disease Spread

A US biochemist has claimed that the modern outbreak of Lyme disease in the United States may be linked to secret biological experiments conducted during the Cold War.

Dr Robert Malone, a scientist known for helping develop early mRNA vaccine technology, said he found evidence suggesting that government-backed experiments involving ticks may have played a role in the spread of tick-borne diseases.

His claims are based on his study of declassified government documents, Cold War biological weapons records and scientific research on tick-borne infections.

Malone said the documents point to a series of experiments during the 1960s where scientists released ticks into the environment to track how they spread disease.

Radioactive ticks reportedly released in Virginia

One of the most striking claims involves an experiment where more than 282,000 ticks were released in the US state of Virginia.

According to Malone’s report, the ticks were marked with a radioactive substance known as Carbon-14. This allowed scientists to track the insects using Geiger counters, which detect radiation.

The goal of the experiment was to study how ticks move through the environment and how animals such as birds could carry them across long distances.

The ticks themselves were not radioactive in a harmful way. Instead, the Carbon-14 label simply helped researchers track where the insects travelled after being released.

Malone believes the same areas where these experiments took place later saw a major rise in tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease.

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Research linked to larger Cold War bioweapons programme

Malone’s report says the tick experiments may have been connected to a larger Cold War military programme called Project 112.

This programme was authorised in 1962 by US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. It involved dozens of secret tests aimed at studying how biological agents could spread in real-world conditions.

Records suggest that the programme planned 134 different tests.

Some facilities involved in the programme were reportedly capable of breeding millions of insects each week, including mosquitoes and ticks. The aim was to understand whether insects could be used to spread diseases as weapons during wartime.

Such insect-based weapons were studied during the Cold War because they could spread illnesses quietly without using traditional bombs or missiles.

Plum Island laboratory also mentioned

Malone also pointed to research carried out at Plum Island, a government laboratory located on an island near the coast of Long Island in New York.

The Plum Island Animal Disease Center has been used since the 1950s to study infectious diseases that affect animals.

The laboratory sits not far from the Connecticut town where Lyme disease was first identified in the 1970s.

Malone suggested that open-air tick research carried out at or near Plum Island might have played a role in the spread of the disease.

However, the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the facility today, has repeatedly said that Lyme disease was never studied at Plum Island.

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US officials previously called for investigation

Malone’s claims come after some US officials asked for a review of possible government experiments involving ticks.

In December 2025, New Jersey Representative Chris Smith introduced an amendment calling for an investigation into past government research.

The proposal asked authorities to review projects carried out between 1945 and 1972 by the US military, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The review would focus on research involving two groups of bacteria, Spirochaetales and Rickettsiales, which are known to cause tick-borne diseases.

Robert F Kennedy Jr also raised concerns

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has also suggested that Lyme disease might have started as part of a failed bioweapons experiment.

Kennedy has previously said the disease may have been linked to research carried out in the 1970s at facilities such as Plum Island.

These suggestions have renewed debate in the United States about the origins of Lyme disease and the extent of Cold War biological research.

Claims about suppressed pathogen research

Malone’s report also says that research into another tick-borne pathogen may have been hidden from the public.

He claims the US government ignored or suppressed information about a bacterium sometimes called the “Swiss Agent.”

The bacterium, known to scientists as Rickettsia helvetica, was detected in Lyme disease patients in Europe during the 1970s.

Malone believes this pathogen may also infect ticks in the United States.

He argues that ignoring this bacterium may have made Lyme disease more difficult to diagnose and treat.

Malone referred to notes written by Willy Burgdorfer, the scientist who discovered the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

Burgdorfer identified the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi in 1982, which helped scientists understand the cause of Lyme disease.

According to Malone, unpublished papers by Burgdorfer suggested that other pathogens carried by ticks could lead to long-lasting symptoms that do not respond well to normal antibiotics.

Malone also cited claims from the book “Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons” written by journalist Kris Newby.

The book describes alleged statements from Burgdorfer suggesting that he was told to leave certain information out of his early research papers.

Malone wrote that Burgdorfer’s notes suggested he had been “told to omit the presence of at least one potential bioweapon” during the early Lyme disease investigation.

Lyme disease remains a major health concern

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is spread to humans through the bite of infected ticks.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially records about 30,000 to 40,000 cases each year.

However, the agency estimates the real number of infections could be much higher, possibly around 476,000 cases annually.

Common symptoms include a circular rash at the site of the tick bite, fever, fatigue and muscle pain.

If the disease is not treated in time, it can lead to serious complications such as heart problems, neurological disorders and inflammation of the brain.

Malone’s report also mentioned a controversial Cold War operation known as Operation Mongoose.

This CIA-linked programme was launched in 1962 and aimed to weaken the Cuban government.

According to some accounts, agents considered using infected insects as a form of economic sabotage.

One claim suggests that boxes of infected ticks were dropped from aircraft over sugarcane workers in Cuba.

However, this claim is largely based on anonymous testimony and has never been independently verified.

Reports say the idea was quickly abandoned because the insects could spread unpredictably if the wind changed.

Some programmes confirmed, others remain disputed

Declassified documents have confirmed that the United States did run biological weapons research programmes during the Cold War.

Records found in the CIA and US National Archives confirm the existence of projects such as Project 112 and planning for insect-based weapons.

However, there is no confirmed proof that these experiments directly caused the Lyme disease outbreak.

Many scientists say Lyme disease likely spread through natural ecological changes, including growing deer populations and expanding tick habitats.

Calls for transparency continue

Despite the debate, Malone says more transparency is needed.

He concluded in his report that there is roughly a 45 percent chance that Cold War tick experiments and missing research details contributed to Lyme disease reaching widespread levels in the United States.

Malone also argued that the alleged suppression of information about the Swiss Agent for more than four decades showed a willingness by institutions to hide public health data.

The CIA has not yet publicly responded to the claims. Reports say journalists have contacted the agency seeking clarification.

For now, the origin of Lyme disease remains a topic of scientific and political debate, with many experts calling for further investigation and full disclosure of historical research records.