MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Employees of the US biological laboratory NAMRU-3, which is based at an air base in Italy, are conducting research on especially dangerous infections in Egypt, Ghana and Djibouti, Head of the troops of radiation, chemical and biological protection of the Russian armed forces, Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov said during a briefing on US military biological activities on Tuesday.

"NAMRU-3 has been based at the Sigonella air base in Italy since 2019. In the meantime, the laboratory staff, including entomologists, microbiologists and infectious disease doctors, conduct research on natural outbreaks of especially dangerous infections - Ebola, dengue, malaria - in Egypt, Ghana and Djibouti," he said.

According to Kirillov, the United States also planned to create an infrastructure for conducting clinical trials of drugs against viral fevers in all branches of its NAMRU biolabs.

"The project involved the creation of a mobile research infrastructure and the training of medical staff. They developed standardized protocols for clinical trials on humans and applications for registration of medicines. They were supposed to work out operational protocols in the area of responsibility of the US’ African Command [Armed Forces], and then spread them to all foreign NAMRU branches," he said.

The lieutenant general referred to a restricted document from the US Department of Defense, which had been obtained during operational activities on the liberated Ukrainian territories. The document is dated 2015 and concerns a system of clinical trials of medical agents against viral fevers. "The authors of the document, including employees of the US Army Institute of Infectious Diseases, planned to create a mobile rapid response unit designed to test new drugs at US military locations around the world," Kirillov concluded.