In a startling revelation, two scientists employed by a U.S. government laboratory have been charged with illegally bringing vials of the deactivated mpox virus into the United States from Africa. This incident, which was followed by false statements made during an investigation at a Michigan airport, was announced by authorities on Tuesday.
The federal court in Detroit unveiled a criminal complaint against Vincent Munster, who leads the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, and his colleague, Claude Kwe.
The pair was intercepted at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in January after arriving on a flight from Paris, following a nine-day trip to the Republic of Congo. This central African region has been grappling with an mpox outbreak, which has been linked to over 2,000 fatalities. While this particular outbreak was declared over in April, its impact was significant.
During questioning, Munster firmly denied any involvement in bringing biological materials or samples back to the U.S., according to a court document filed by the FBI.
However, subsequent testing contradicted Munster’s claims, revealing that both he and Kwe were indeed in possession of vials containing deactivated mpox. The duo had neither declared these materials nor secured the necessary permissions for transport.
Marcus Sykes, representing the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “Any deliberate effort to conceal and smuggle biological materials into the United States without proper authorization is a breach of the public’s trust and could have placed the public at risk.”
Munster and Kwe did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They are expected to appear in federal court in Missoula, Montana, on Wednesday.
“This matter is currently under investigation, and NIH is cooperating fully with law enforcement and appropriate authorities,” said the National Institutes of Health, which oversees the lab. “Because this is an ongoing investigation and personnel matter, we are limited in what additional information we can provide at this time.”
There was no mention in the government’s court filing about why Munster and Kwe may have wanted to bring the deactivated mpox virus to their lab. But they are virologists who have worked extensively on mpox research, the FBI said.
Munster told investigators at the Detroit-area airport that any necessary documents were in his laptop, “but you don’t need them. I do this all the time,” the FBI quoted him as saying.
“It is reasonable to believe that Munster’s statements regarding the possession of the required documentation to (customs officers) were materially false,” the FBI said.
The most common symptoms of mpox, according to the World Health Organization, are a rash and fever, but it can sometimes cause serious illness. Most people recover fully.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, was first identified by scientists in 1958 during outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys. Until a few years ago, most human cases were seen in people in central and West Africa who had close contact with infected animals.
In 2022, the virus was confirmed to spread via sex for the first time and triggered outbreaks in more than 70 countries that had not previously reported mpox.
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