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World
Two American scientists face criminal charges for attempting to smuggle monkeypox virus samples from Africa to the US and lying to airport investigators.
Two American researchers have been accused of trying to smuggle monkeypox virus samples from Africa into the United States and deceiving investigators at the airport about the matter.
A criminal complaint was filed in a federal court in Detroit against Vincent Munster, head of the Virus Ecology Section at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, and Claude Qui, who works alongside him.
Munster and Qui were detained at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in January after arriving from Paris following a nine-day trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The monkeypox outbreak in Congo, a vast region in Central Africa, was linked to over 2,000 deaths despite the official announcement in April that a two-year outbreak had ended.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation stated in court documents that Munster "strongly denied" returning to the US with any biological materials or samples.
However, subsequent examinations revealed that Munster and Qui were carrying vials containing inactivated monkeypox virus, according to the FBI, but they failed to declare them or obtain the necessary permits.
Marcus Sykes from the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services said, "Any deliberate attempt to conceal or smuggle biological materials into the United States without proper authorization constitutes a breach of public trust and could have endangered the public."
