United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

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The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) is a US Army research institution based in Fort Detrick, Maryland. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, also headquartered at Fort Detrick. USAMRIID's primary function is to conduct research into defensive countermeasures against biological warfare, and possesses the only Department of Defense laboratory capable of studying BSL-4 viruses. USAMRIID is also known to frequently collaborate with public health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. During the War on Terror, it was responsible for the US military's fight against viral weaponry.

History

The first known instance of USAMRIID activity was in 2005, when they began investigating an apparent riot in Harvardville International Airport, wherein the rioters displayed symptoms of Cannibal Disease, a disease caused by any number of retroviruses which causes mutations as well as brain damage and hormonal instability resulting in cannibalistic and homicidal tendencies in the infected. The investigation quickly determined t-Virus was present, and under Anti-Virus Weapon Protocol No.7600 had the airport locked down and asymptomatic occupants of the airport were forced to undergo immediate vaccine therapy.

In 2006, USAMRIID teams responded to the aftermath of the White House Incident to collect zombie corpses and decontaminate the White House. They subsequently identified the viral bioweapon used in the attack as a modified strain of the t-Virus.

Sometime around 2014, USAMRIID began investigating a series of sporadic cannibalistic homicides with no other similarities between them, sometimes committed in public. They soon determined a retrovirus was responsible, later dubbed A-Virus, and began working with universities across the world via the UN. This multi-lab development led to success at the Alexander Institute of Biotechnology in creating a prototype vaccine for the virus, though it soon became clear the organisation responsible had access to UN materials. Consequently, the university lab was attacked, and New York was ravaged by an outbreak of A-Virus, mutating thousands.