WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives wants to know if the Pentagon ever used infected ticks in biological warfare experiments.
An amendment passed last week calls for the Defense Department’s Inspector General to investigate whether any such experiments were performed between 1950 and 1975.
The measure was introduced by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), who said he was inspired by a theory about a possible link between infected ticks and the spread of Lyme disease.
Rep. Smith said he read several books and articles suggesting that “significant research” was performed by the US government “to turn ticks and insects into bioweapons.”
Smith said Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases were “exploding” in the US and that “Americans have a right to know whether any of this is true.”
(Photo by Marek Slusarczyk/Getty.)
