Review: Nicolas Hulscher’s Ticks “Why the FBI Must Investigate”

Nicolas Hulscher, an epidemiologist with the McCullough Foundation, has published a provocative report arguing that the FBI should investigate “bioterror-related activities” behind the surge in alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a tick-borne allergy to mammalian meat. Published on Peter McCullough’s Substack, the piece claims AGS has skyrocketed 10,000% in just over a decade and points to historical military tick releases, modern biotechnology funding, and academic “proposals” to intentionally spread the condition as evidence demanding federal criminal investigation.
 
Hulscher is correct that AGS has emerged as a significant public health concern. CDC data identified over 110,000 suspected cases between 2010 and 2022, with estimates suggesting up to 450,000 Americans may be affected. Cases have increased substantially, particularly in regions inhabited by the lone star tick. Public health authorities attribute the surge to expanding tick habitats driven by climate change, increased diagnostic testing, and growing physician awareness.

The report demands an FBI investigation.
 
First, Hulscher cites Gates Foundation funding for genetically engineered ticks. While the foundation did support Flyttr, formerly Oxitec’s research into genetically modified cattle ticks for livestock pest control, these are an entirely different species from the lone star tick that transmits AGS in the United States. Fact-checkers at Snopes, the Associated Press, and Grist have all noted this fundamental mismatch, which question the alleged link between the funding and the American AGS epidemic.
 
Second, the report references a peer-reviewed paper in the journal ‘Bioethics’ by Western Michigan University philosophers Parker Crutchfield and Blake Hereth. Their article, “Beneficial Bloodsucking,” presented a theoretical argument that if meat consumption is immoral, then spreading AGS could function as “moral bioenhancement.” It should be noted that this article was explicitly a philosophical exercise, not an actionable scientific proposal to release gene-edited ticks.

Third, allusions to historical military tick research—often associated with Plum Island and Lyme disease—provide suspicion.