A researcher is planning on creating a version of monkeypox that is 1000 times more lethal and some would like to know ‘why’?

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today sent a letter to Lawrence Tabak, the senior official performing the duties of director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), regarding details about a supercharged monkeypox experiment planned by an NIH researcher.

The letter follows up on an October 31, 2022, letter, which the NIH has not provided a formal response. It also contains a formal notice to preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the topic.

The project in question involves transferring genes from “clade 1” or Congo Basin clade monkeypox virus (a rare version of monkeypox virus that is 1,000 times more lethal in mice than the version currently circulating in humans) into “clade 2” or West African clade monkeypox virus (the version currently circulating in humans). The clade 1 version of the monkeypox virus is so dangerous that it is classified as a Federal Select Agent. Information about the specific experiments became known when the researcher discussed his plans in a September 2022 Science article on National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) work on monkeypox.