EXPOSED: US Labs Breeding Deadly Foreign Ticks in Bid for mRNA Vaccines
U.S. government-funded laboratories are breeding colonies of exotic Hyalomma ticks—originally from Africa—to study Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), a deadly virus with an estimated fatality rate of up to 30% that has never appeared in the United States. The goal of the research is to explore transmission in livestock and support development of potential mRNA-based countermeasures, but the effort has raised strong objections from critics who worry about the possibility of laboratory accidents and unintended spread.
According to documents highlighted by the White Coat Waste Project and first reported by The Highwire, the work is taking place across several facilities, including the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Manhattan, Kansas—linked to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF)—as well as UC Davis in California and Texas Tech University in Lubbock. These labs are establishing controlled tick colonies to assess how CCHF spreads in cattle, sheep, and goats, and to evaluate whether U.S. climate and ecology could allow the disease to take hold if introduced.
Nicole Shanahan: “We are now on the precipice of being forced to inject our cattle with the mRNA vaccine. So just like we talk about medical freedom for humans and the desire to not have mandates telling us what we have to put in our bodies, food freedom is an extension of that.… pic.twitter.com/VG1qBLTAEC
— Camus (@newstart_2024) November 13, 2025
The Highwire reports that the White Coat Waste Project identified multiple USDA contracts supporting mRNA-vaccine-related research, including funding directed toward CCHF studies at the Manhattan, Kansas site in coordination with NBAF researchers. CCHF, first identified in the mid-20th century, causes severe illness and can spread via ticks, infected animals, and, in rare cases, from person to person. No widely licensed vaccine currently exists outside of an older version produced decades ago in the Soviet Union.
Further funding includes Department of Defense grants supporting CCHF research under programs related to biological threat reduction. EcoHealth Alliance, an organization previously scrutinized for its international virus research collaborations, received one such grant from 2020 to 2024.
Some scientists and public-health commentators are sharply criticizing the tick-import program. Kris Newby, a Stanford science writer and producer of the documentary Under Our Skin, told The Highwire she believes shipping infected ticks into livestock regions is unnecessarily risky, pointing to historical instances where laboratory exposures or loss of control caused problems. Ticks, she noted, are particularly difficult to contain.
Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President at the White Coat Waste Project, similarly warned that bringing dangerous pathogens into U.S. facilities—particularly diseases never seen here—could pose hazards if lab errors occur. He argued that such research should not be funded by taxpayers.
The discussion has also intersected with ongoing debates about the role of mRNA technology in agriculture. Nicole Shanahan, host of the “Back to the People” podcast, spoke on Real America’s Voice about concerns over vaccine use in livestock and broader issues of informed consent and food transparency.
In a statement to the Gateway Pundit, Goodman reiterated his criticism of importing high-risk pathogens and urged action from the current administration. Earlier this year, a White Coat Waste investigation led Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins—serving under President Trump—to cancel a $1 million collaboration on avian influenza research that involved a Chinese partner previously linked to controversial virus studies.
Goodman argued that federal agencies should ensure that taxpayers are not required to subsidize experimental livestock vaccines and that private industry should bear the cost if it intends to commercialize such products.
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