MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. The United States has created about 400 dual-purpose biological laboratories, including many outside the country, and the research taking place there allows the Americans to control the spread of epidemics, Irina Yarovaya, Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker and co-chair of Russian parliamentary commission probing into the activities of biological laboratories in Ukraine, said on Wednesday.

“The US has created about 400 dual-purpose biolabs. The results obtained from them allow the Americans to control and shape the spread of epidemics,” the State Duma press service quoted the lawmaker as saying.

Yarovaya pointed out that the US could study pathogenic microorganisms “capable of affecting a certain human, plant or animal genotype” at its foreign biological laboratories. “At the same time, American specialists have the possibility to study their propagation and behavior in real climatic conditions with the purpose of adjusting their characteristics. The US can conduct real-world trials of all the bioagents that interest them, studying their pathogenicity, possible ways of its delivery to the target and other characteristics in case of potential application,” the lawmaker said.