U.S. Military Aerosolizes Hantavirus with 30% Fatality Rate in Nebraska: Journal 'Pathogens'
Pentagon-funded study confirms scientists deliberately created airborne hantavirus particles and carried out stabilization trials to prolong their survival.
The U.S. military has funded research, published in July in the journal Pathogens, in which scientists deliberately aerosolized Sin Nombre virus (SNV)—the hantavirus that kills roughly 30% of those infected—in order to study how long the virus can survive in the air and under what conditions it remains infectious.
Why is the Pentagon commissioning experiments that turn a rodent-borne virus with a 30% kill rate into an airborne particle?
Why are U.S. defense labs probing how to stabilize lethal aerosols?
The study would say it aerosolized hantavirus because “gaining insight into the SNV bioaerosol decay profile is fundamental to the prevention of SNV infections,” but the deeper concern is whether such work risks accidental release or could be harnessed intentionally for pandemic potential.
This new study fits the same disturbing pattern: taxpayer-funded projects that blur the line between “biodefense” and the step-by-step recipe for a future bioweapon.
Dr. Richard Bartlett didn’t mince words as he raised alarm over Pentagon-backed hantavirus aerosol experiments:
“How much longer will We the People tolerate our government using our tax dollars to do deadly experiments in our homeland? Has anyone heard that the COVID pandemic might have been caused by a lab leak? We have no guarantee that another lab leak might happen on our own soil. Remember: Dr. Anthony Fauci and a 2016 NIH-led biosecurity report identified insider leaks as the “most probable” risk in gain-of-function research.”
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A Lethal Virus
The authors admit the severity of the pathogen upfront:
“Later symptoms involve respiratory distress that requires immediate medical attention and has a 30% fatality rate.”
In other words, this is not a mild virus.
If contracted, nearly one in three patients will die, and there is no approved treatment or vaccine.
The Pentagon’s Involvement
This wasn’t purely academic work.
The study declares its sponsor:
“This research was funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), under grant number DTRA/CBS-NSRI CB1099.”
That means the Pentagon’s weapons division paid for scientists to aerosolize and study the airborne stability of a lethal hantavirus—a clear overlap with bioweapons research.
Aerosolizing a Killer
The researchers describe how they turned the virus into an aerosol:
“Suspensions were aerosolized via a 120 kHz ultrasonic nozzle… with 3 lpm of carrier air.”
Put plainly, they deliberately converted liquid hantavirus into airborne particles small enough to reach deep into human lungs.
This step—aerosolization—is the foundation of making a respiratory bioweapon.
Measuring Airborne Survival
They then tracked how long these particles remained infectious under different conditions:
“At 49.1 ± 0.8% RH, the addition of 1.0 ppm ozone caused a significant increase in the amount of SNV decay at 2.6 ± 0.1 log/min.”
In other words, in normal humidity, the virus survives in the air unless destroyed by ozone.
Sunlight weakened it but did not fully eliminate infectivity.
This proves SNV is stable enough to persist airborne indoors—such as in barns, sheds, or attics—precisely where human infections are known to occur.
Comparison to Other Pandemic Viruses
The researchers themselves compared SNV to avian influenza and Lassa virus:
“This transmission route is similar to other viruses that have an environmental transmission route, such as avian influenza (e.g., H5N1) and Lassa virus.”
This places hantavirus in the same category as pathogens with known pandemic potential.
The implication is clear: if SNV ever adapted to spread person-to-person, as Andes virus already does, the results would be catastrophic.
Particle Sizes Optimized for Lung Infection
The team also measured the size of the particles they created:
“The results indicated a bimodal distribution… with a peak at under a micron in size and a second peak under two microns.”
Translated, these are exactly the particle sizes most dangerous to humans, capable of bypassing upper airways and embedding deep inside the lungs.
Where the Experiments Took Place
The aerosolization experiments were conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska, using the Biological Aerosol Reaction Chamber (Bio-ARC).
This is a specialized flow-through system designed to expose bioaerosols to controlled conditions such as simulated sunlight, ozone, and humidity.
Institutional Affiliations
The authors are affiliated with the following institutions:
Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE
The Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE
National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), Omaha, NE
Center for Global Health, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Full List of Scientists
Elizabeth A. Klug
Danielle N. Rivera
Vicki L. Herrera
Ashley R. Ravnholdt
Daniel N. Ackerman
Yangsheng Yu
Chunyan Ye
Steven B. Bradfute
St. Patrick Reid
Joshua L. Santarpia
Bottom Line
The Pentagon has funded scientists to take a hantavirus with a 30% fatality rate, aerosolize it into tiny lung-penetrating particles, and measure how long it stays infectious in the air.
This kind of research, while framed as biodefense, is indistinguishable from steps needed to weaponize a virus.
With no vaccine or treatment available, the knowledge produced here doesn’t just help “protect”—it creates a blueprint for how to turn hantavirus into a bioweapon.
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My gut tells me they want to see how long it stays potent in the environment so they can make it more deadly to last long enough to kill a lot of people. Gee maybe we need to shut down the Department of Defense. They appear to be the Department of Democide not Defense. DOD=Dept of Democide.
Anyone care to ask our secretary of defense what's going on with this? Has anyone done that yet?