Fauci records detail aerosol Ebola experiment and lung findings

Records released by Sen. Rand Paul describe a 2015 experiment at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in which researchers exposed primates to aerosolized Ebola and observed lung damage in vaccinated animals. Anthony Fauci’s March 2016 diary entries and emails show he expressed alarm about the findings and how they were being shared. The records do not establish that an Ebola vaccine harmed people. The experiment compared four vaccine candidates in groups of four primates, according to the released materials. Nearly all animals exposed to the virus died, whether vaccinated or not. Autopsies reportedly found necrosis, inflammation and fibrin in the lungs of vaccinated animals, but not in unvaccinated controls. The records do not clearly identify all the candidates tested or provide a complete account of the study. In a March 9, 2016, diary entry, Fauci wrote that the findings had little relevance to naturally emerging Ebola outbreaks because the engineered aerosol exposure differed from natural transmission. He also recorded concern that the results could alarm officials in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where Ebola vaccine trials were planned.