Military Weaponized Bacteria Unleash Global Scourge
Part One
During this century humanity has learned hard lessons when researchers mess with pathogens in laboratories. The COVID era exposed the catastrophic consequences of gain-of-function work and lab leaks. But what the public is not aware of is that during the first Gulf War a genetically modified pathogenic microorganism was deliberately created and released by the military with dreadful results.
This is a tale of vile deception, stunning betrayal and daunting deceit. It also has a hero. Let’s start there. The hero is Dr. Garth Nicolson. He and his wife Dr. Nancy Nicolson (now deceased) pioneered a successful treatment protocol for military personnel who returned from the first Gulf War of the early 1990s desperately ill. More on that later. For the nonce let’s delve into the scintillating career of Dr. Garth Nicolson.
During the first Gulf War Nicolson was the David Bruton Jr. Chair in Cancer Research and Professor and Chairman at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In 1972 Nicolson proposed a landmark model for cell membranes, the fluid mosaic model which he published in the peer-review journal Science.
Singer, S. J.; Nicolson, G. L. (1972). The Fluid Mosaic Model of the Structure of Cell Membranes. Science. 175 (4023): 720–731 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.175.4023.720
That seminal publication propelled Nicolson’s stellar career that culminated in over 700 published medical articles. Additionally he served on the editorial board for 30 medical and scientific journals, and edited 15 medical books. In recognition of the importance of his work, Nicolson has won many awards: the Burroughs Wellcome Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine (United Kingdom), the Stephen Paget Award of the Metastasis Research Society, the Innovative Medicine Award of Canada and the EU Academy of Sciences. Perhaps best of all he was awarded the coveted National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award. The kind of accomplishments expected of a tenured professor at a major medical center.
Then in 1990 the first Gulf War erupted; when his stepdaughter, an army captain returned home like thousands of Gulf War vets severely ill, Nicolson and his scientist wife Nancy, were genuinely perplexed. This ushered in a very tumultuous time for the Nicolsons. The upshot is that Nicolson left M.D. Anderson, left Texas and settled in Long Beach, CA. where he launched the Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMM) to pursue full time research to combat the mysterious Gulf War Illness (GWI) that afflicted thousands upon thousands of returning vets with debilitating chronic illnesses including but not limited to incapacitating fatigue, muscle spasms, blurred vision, chronic stomach pains, bleeding gums etc.
https://web.archive.org/web/20020203013400/http://www.immed.org/publications/gulf_war_illness/jamdox.html
https://www.jocn-journal.com/article/S0967-5868(01)91075-6/pdf
https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=95720#return242
Nicolson’s stepdaughter, a captain in the Airborne Division, returned home severely sick and in fact failed her mandatory physical fitness test in order to continue training to be a military pilot. Soon after Garth and his scientist wife, Nancy, discovered that thousands of vets were returning with major health issues including dire neurodegenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis and ALS. Various autoimmune disorders were also diagnosed.
After a bit of sleuthing the vaccines were identified as a major culprit. Military personnel were subjected to a daunting vaccine schedule, of 20-30 vaccinations over a timeframe of just two-three days. The notion that the multiple vaccines protocol was a causative agent was enhanced by the finding that when many vaccinated military personnel, like sailors on ships, who never even went ashore also became ill.
Gradually the potential role of vaccines in perpetuating GWI was acknowledged by the medical community in peer-reviewed publications. Here are two examples.
An article published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found a three-fold increased incidence of GWI in nondeployed veterans from Kansas who had been vaccinated in preparation for deployment, compared to non-deployed, non-vaccinated veterans.
“Observed patterns suggest that excess morbidity among Gulf War veterans is associated with characteristics of their wartime service, and that vaccines used during the war may be a contributing factor.“
Prevalence and Patterns of Gulf War Illness in Kansas Veterans: Association of Symptoms with Characteristics of Person, Place, and Time of Military Service
American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 152, Issue 10, 15 November 2000, Pages 992–1002
https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-abstract/ 52/10/992/55709
Another article published in British powerhouse medical journal The Lancet came to a similar conclusion.
“Vaccination against biological warfare and multiple routine vaccinations were associated with the CDC multisymptom syndrome in the Gulf War cohort.”
Health of UK servicemen who served in Persian Gulf War
The Lancet Volume 353, Issue 9148p169-178 January 16, 99
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(98)11338-7
After passage of time the GWI became even stranger with the realization that the illnesses were not limited just to the returning veterans but that their family members were also stricken! In cases that involved children many times the symptoms manifested as some sort of autism disorder. The fact that the illness was transmissible seemed to indicate that some sort of pathogen was involved.
What pathogen(s) was responsible for the diverse symptoms that comprise what is now known as Gulf War Illness? A medical syndrome that was not just confined to the vets but family members – even their pets – not to mention medical personnel who were treating them.
In fact the Nicholson’s themselves were stricken.
Nightmare disease defies search for permanent cure The Denver Post; September 6, 1998
By Loretta Sword The Associated Press
The article states in part:
Garth Nicolson became interested in the many strange symptoms being reported across the country after his daughter-in-law became ill upon her return from the war.
Nicolson claims he lost four teeth and part of his jawbone to unexplained abscesses similar to the ones his daughter-in-law experienced at the height of her illness.
His wife, Nancy, also a researcher, suffered other symptoms that were versions of the elusive Gulf War syndrome.
Eventually the Nicolsons discovered it was a particular strain of mycoplasma, Mycoplasma fermentans incognitus (Mfi) that was the culprit. It could not be detected serologically (using the Elisa test); only by employing highly sophisticated Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology with proper controls to rule out false positives were the Nicolsons able to detect the mycoplasma in the blood of the sick veterans and family members who were subsequently stricken. Being a simple microorganism Mfi will respond only to the tetracycline class of antibiotics. With this in mind in 1995 the Nicolsons published a brief notice to the Journal Of The American Medical Association.
Nicolson GL, Nicolson NL. Doxycycline treatment and Desert Storm. JAMA 1995; 273:618-619
Their article states in part:
“After listening to the health complaints of numerous veterans of Desert Shield/Storm, including our step-daughter and her colleagues who served in the U.S. Army’s 101st ABN DIV, and their inability to convince military hospitals and VA Medical Centers that they are suffering from a possible syndrome with the very same major symptoms listed in the Workshop report, we attempted to suggest that many of these symptoms can be explained by aggressive pathogenic mycoplasma infections, such as Mycoplasma incognitus or Mycoplasma penetrans, and they should be treatable with multiple courses of antibiotics, such as doxycycline (100-200 mg/d) or macrolides. ….. In fact, of the 73 Desert Storm veterans that we spoke to by phone or contacted by letter who had the symptoms listed below, 55 indicated that they had good responses with doxycycline and eventually returned to normal duty.”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/387101
They also published their findings in the peer-review journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Nicolson GL, Nicolson NL. Chronic fatigue illness and Operation Desert Storm. J Occup Environ
Med 1996 (38): 14-16 https://www.ovid.com/jnls/joem/fulltext/00043764-199601000-00003~chronic-fatigue-illness-and-operation-desert-storm
Nonetheless the medical establishment was reluctant to accept Nicolson’s finding that a simple mycoplasma could result in a diverse syndrome of diseases ranging from deadly neurodegenerative disorders to autoimmune diseases. Even the Department of Defense stated in letters to various members of Congress and to the press that M. fermentans infections are commonly found, not dangerous and not even a human pathogen. Project Day Lily Page 555
Nicolson responded with a letter to Science pointing out that Mycoplasma fermentans was a well recognized infectious agent and that a particularly virulent strain was patented. This was supported by the Army via the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
NICOLSON’S 2001 LETTER TO SCIENCE
Science 4 May 2001 (Vol. 292, Issue 5518, p. 853)
I WISH TO TAKE ISSUE WITH THE DESCRIPTION IN
Martin Enserink’s New Focus article on Gulf War Illness (GWI) of our discovery (1, 2) of Mycoplasma fermentans in ‘40% of GWI patients that “it is not clear whether M fermentans really causes disease.” In fact, there are numerous peer-reviewed papers on this issue (reviewed in 3), and a patent supported by the U.S. Army has been issued entitled “Pathogenic Mycoplasma” (4). Studies of its pathogenic properties have been published by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology showing that healthy monkeys injected with M fermentans developed a chronic illness that progresses to become fatal (5). Also, civilian patients with similar symptoms also show high rates of infection (2, 6, 7). M fermentans fulfills almost all of the criteria of pathogenicity (8), including recovery on specific antibiotics (7).
GARTH NICOLSON The Institute for Molecular Medicine, 15162 Triton Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92649, USA; e-mail: gnicolson@immed.org
References and Notes
1. G. L. Nicolson, N. L. Nicolson. Intern. J. Occup. Med. Immunol. Tox. 5, 69 (1996); G. L. Nicolson, N. L. Nicolson, M. Nasralla. Intern. J. Med. 1, 80 (1998).
2. A. Vojdani, A. R. Franco, J. Chronic Fatigue Syndr. 5,187 (1999).
3. G. L. Nicolson et al., J. Chronic Fatigue Syndr. 6 (3/4), 23 (2000).
4. S.C. Lo. Pathogenic Mycoplasma. U.S. Patent 5,242,820. September 7, 1993.
5. S. C. Lo, et al. Clin. Infect. Diseases 17 (S1), 283 (1993).
6. M. Nasralla, J. Haier, G. L. Nicolson. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 18,859 (1999).
7. M. Nasralla, J. Haier, G. L. Nicolson. Intern. J. Med. Biol. Environ. 28, 15 (2000). 8. D. Taylor-Robinson. Clin. Infect. Diseases 23, 671 (1996).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11996478_Continuing_Research_into_Gulf_War_Illness
In order to gain appreciation for what the Nicolson’s accomplished consider this 1997 article from the LA Times titled
Gulf War Illness Caused by Bacteria, Doctors Say
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-09-mn-36564-story.html
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, after hearing testimony from many worried veterans, had vowed to investigate the contagion question.
“We’ve had lots of veterans testify that they are concerned they are passing on these illnesses to their wives and children,” said Charles Battaglia, the committee’s staff director.
Joyce Riley, a former Air Force flight nurse in Houston, testified before the committee that she became ill while treating soldiers who returned from the Gulf War.
Though she never left the United States during her tour of duty, she quickly began to show symptoms identical to those of her patients, including the debilitating chronic fatigue that now afflicts many veterans. At one point, Riley said, she was too weak to brush her teeth.
When Riley recovered—thanks, she says, to intravenous antibiotics similar to those used on Nicolson’s daughter –she founded the American Gulf War Veterans Assn., a Texas-based organization that answers veterans’ questions and collects data on their health.
She was lucky, she says, because she received prompt medical attention. Thousands of veterans have died, she believes, because their conditions went unrecognized and misdiagnosed.
Among the veterans who have contacted her organization, Riley says, 80% report that they’ve transmitted their illness to at least one other person, including children, neighbors and co-workers.
Many veterans even describe bizarre symptoms in their household pets.
“Here’s the scary part,” she said. “When I talk to veterans, I ask, ‘How’re the children doing?’ And they say, ‘Well, my little boy cries at night because his muscle aches are so bad.’ And I say, ‘Tell me about your pets.’ And they tell me, ‘Well, our pets died.’ ”
Frequently, Riley (now deceased) heard from physicians who were sick. And scared.
“A doctor called me the other day, and he’s been treating Gulf War veterans,” she said. “Both his prize dogs are dragging their back legs, and he’s sick too.”
Dr. Kathy Leisure, of Lebanon, Pa., has no doubt that the illness is an infectious disease. She has treated 600 Gulf War veterans, and one day noted a Gulf War-type rash on her nose.
“Even now people are getting the illness,” she said.
One of Nicolson’s supporters is Dr. Edward S. Hyman, a New Orleans physician who has treated nearly a dozen Gulf War veterans without becoming ill himself–though he checks himself regularly for unusual bacteria he believes responsible for Gulf War illness.
Hyman, who has testified before Congress about Gulf War illness, has warned that the nation’s blood supply, much of which is donated by active duty military personnel, may be unsafe.
“It’s conceivable,” said Hyman, who added that Gulf War illness behaves like the bacterial infections he has studied for 30 years. “I’m not the kind of guy who screams ‘germ warfare’ when there’s no evidence for it. Though I have better evidence than most anybody.”
Dr. Charles Hinshaw, of Wichita, Kansas, agrees. A former president of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, he hasn’t become sick treating Gulf War veterans, but he believes that many of their illnesses are contagious. He handles their blood with great care.
“If I was running the Red Cross,” he said, “or I was part of the Department of Defense, I’d say, ‘Let’s don’t take any more blood from veterans until we answer this question.’ ”
Officials at the American Red Cross, which collects 50% of the nation’s blood supply, dismiss such concerns.
“We make sure before we collect blood from anybody that they feel well, that they’re in good health, and have normal temperature and pulse,” said Dr. Peter L. Page, senior medical officer for biomedical services at the American Red Cross. “Those practices have protected transfusions very well over the decades from bacterial contamination.”
But Nicolson and others charge that because Mycoplasma fermentans and some other bacteria have long incubation
periods, carriers may not always display outward symptoms of illness.
More than five years after the war’s end, “we’re just now beginning to see secondhand exposures in physicians and nurses,” said Nicolson, adding: “This is not going to go away, just slowly spread.”
It spread like wildfire through his office. Besides himself and his wife, five staffers came down with classic symptoms of Gulf War illness.
“There’s 123 different possible symptoms,” said Blake Hale, 22, a member of Nicolson’s staff, which includes physicians and chemists. “I’ve experienced probably three-quarters of those.”
Some of Hale’s friends had trouble believing that his recent sickness was in any way connected to the Gulf War, since he’s never spent a day in the military.
But such skeptics have an even harder time believing the recovery he’s made. Along with everyone else in Nicolson’s office, he feels just fine after receiving treatment with antibiotics. The drugs don’t cure the disease, doctors say, but they do control the symptoms.
Among Nicolson’s most dramatic treatment successes is Dr. Larry Goss, of Walters, Oklahoma.
When Goss and his wife began suffering from severe chronic fatigue several years ago, they couldn’t imagine the cause. Gulf War syndrome never occurred to them since neither had served in the military.
As his wife’s condition deteriorated into something resembling multiple sclerosis—a common diagnosis, Goss said, among Gulf War veterans who are sick–Goss heard about Nicolson’s research. It was only then that Goss began to wonder if his volunteer work with local Gulf War veterans had caused his illness and that of his wife.
At Nicolson’s suggestion, the Gosses took massive doses of an antibiotic called doxycycline. Almost instantly, both felt better.
“She threw away her cane,” Goss said, “and no longer needed her wheelchair.”
Since his dramatic recovery, and especially his wife’s, Goss has become a firm believer in Nicolson’s theories. For little or no money, he examines hundreds of Gulf War veterans, many of whom come long distances, all of whom seem terribly frightened.
“I’m just a country doctor who got sick and saw a lot of my patients sick and didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “I’m no expert. I don’t think anyone is. We need to learn more.”
Said Riley: “It’s startling. We’re sitting on top of a contagious disease and doing nothing about it.” https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-09-mn-36564-story.html
How did the public react to these powerful revelations? That will be covered in part two.
– Mark Adams National Security Commentator