Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick (/ˈdiːtrɪk/) is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, it has hosted most elements of the United States biological defense program.

As of the early 2010s, Fort Detrick's 1,200-acre (490 ha) campus supports a multi-governmental community that conducts biomedical research and development, medical materiel management, global medical communications and the study of foreign plant pathogens. The lab is known to research pathogens such as Ebola and smallpox.

It is home to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), with its bio-defense agency, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). It also hosts the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and is home to the National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research (NICBR), National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC) and the National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI).

In August 2019, its deadly germ research operations were shut down following serious safety violations, in particular relating to the disposal of dangerous materials.

Fort Detrick is the largest employer in Frederick County, Maryland.