Boats dispensing the bacteria spray over the San Francisco bay.
The bacteria Serratia marcescens.
San Francisco fog.
Boats dispensing the bacteria spray over the San Francisco bay.
OPERATION OCEAN SPRAY
In November of 1976, it was reported the military enacted experiments on the general public without their knowledge. In the 1950’s New York city subways and San Francisco were sprayed with Serratia marcescens. Over the course of 8 days, the bacteria were spread using ships along a bay shoreline in 30-minute increments. The germ is known to live in the human intestines and is a common contaminant in laboratories. The bacteria were sprayed to see how vulnerable the public was too biological warfare. The S. marcescens caused for one individual to dire and several others sick with a bacterial infection.
A family member of a deceased victim, Edward Nevin sued the government over their involvement in their bacterial infection. Prior to the experiment, Nevin underwent a successful prostate gland surgery and was in recovery. Three days after the experiment Edward was admitted to the hospital with a urinary tract infection. When doctors looked at his test results, S. marcescens was found in his urine samples. The death of Edward happened only a month later when the germ spread to his heart. Hospitals in San Francisco noticed an increase in pneumonia. Individuals were said to develop rare urinary tract infection, pneumonia symptoms, and other infections.
The military then claimed the infections were merely a coincidence. The test was justified by the military for the precaution of possible biowarfare attack and observation of how Serratia marcescens affects the population, ironically, the 2001 anthrax attack happened through the mail and not the air like the military prepared for.
Sources:
Thompson, Helen. "In 1950, the U.S. Released a Bioweapon in San Francisco." Smithsonian Magazine, 6 July 2015, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1950-us-released-bioweapon-san-francisco-180955819/.
Influenza; bacterium causes U.S. flu vaccine shortage. (2004, Nov 02). Virus Weekly Retrieved from https://libweb.lib.utsa.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libweb.lib.utsa.edu/docview/213033061?accountid=7122
Christopher J. Coyne & Abigail R. Hall (2018) War and Human Rights Abuses in the United States, Peace Review, 30:2, 184-191, DOI: 10.1080/10402659.2018.1458947
"Clinical microbiology reviews vol. 24,4 (2011): 755-91. doi:10.1128/CMR.00017-11
"How the U.S. Government Tested Biological Warfare on America." Priceonomics, priceonomics.com/how-the-us-government-tested-biological-warfare-on/.
Loria, Kevin. "'One of the Largest Human Experiments in History' Was Conducted on Unsuspecting Residents of San Francisco." Business Insider, 9 July 2015, www.businessinsider.com/the-military-tested-bacterial-weapons-in-san-francisco-2015-7.