A major development in Lyme disease accountability just happened in Washington.
🏛️ A new amendment from Rep. Chris Smith to investigate whether the U.S. military ever weaponized ticks with Lyme disease has been officially included in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
📜 The amendment orders the Government Accountability Office to examine Cold War bioweapons programs and determine whether ticks were used as carriers for pathogens between 1945 and 1972.
🧬 The investigation will review research from the Department of Defense, NIH, USDA, and other federal agencies involving tick-borne bacteria like Spirochaetales and Rickettsiales.
⚠️ Smith stated that millions suffering from Lyme disease deserve the truth about the origins of their illness and whether government programs played any role in its spread.
📚 The amendment was inspired in part by Kris Newby’s book Bitten and the personal files of Dr. Willy Burgdorfer, who described historical experiments involving ticks and pathogens.
📰 After passing the House, this provision now heads to the Senate and is expected to be signed by President Trump once the NDAA clears final passage.
💚 For the Lyme community, this represents a significant step toward long-awaited transparency and answers.
Check out Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode 109 with Kris Newby titled “Bitten: Bioweapons, Cover-Ups, And The Hidden History Of Lyme Disease — Kris Newby” to learn more! @bittenthebook@newbyKris
Posted by Phoiph (Member # 41238) on :
hiker53~
Thanks for posting this.
It is encouraging that attention is finally being directed toward this issue.
Unfortunately, who knows if we will get the truth or another cover-up, which would allow disbelievers (and those entities who stand to be held culpable) to dismiss this as another "conspiracy theory" and avoid accountability.
Posted by MADDOG (Member # 18) on :
And we deserve compensation ! I have lost thousands of bucks to this germ warfare. It destroyed my life ! MADDOG P.S. Not to mention the lab at Mammoth Cave National park.They tested Lyme on the country people there. I went there on vacation and got in on the test.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
I've read that Germany weaponized ticks to drop them over Russia to infect their cattle during WW2. That's also where Erich Traub, the Plum Island tick researcher, was from.