Symptoms of mpox after scientists accused of smuggling vials from US to another country
Two scientists have been accused of smuggling vials of deactivated mpox virus into the US from an African country and lying about it during interviews.
Vincent Munster, chief of the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, and Claude Kwe, who works with him, were stopped at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in January.
Their flight flew in from Paris and they spent nine days in the Republic of Congo. An outbreak of the mpox disease has been linked to more than 2,000 deaths in Congo. An outbreak that lasted two years was declared over in April.
Symptoms of mpox
The most common symptoms of mpox, which was previously known as monkeypox, are a rash and fever, according to the World Health Organization. In some cases, it can cause serious illness, but most people recover completely.
Symptoms usually take 5-21 days to appear, according to the NHS, with initial signs including:
- a high temperature, or feeling hot, cold or shivery
- a headache
- muscle aches
- backache
- swollen glands
- shivering (chills)
- exhaustion
- joint pain
A rash will often appear 1-5 days after the first symptoms, and it can be on any part of your body, while you may also notice anal pain or bleeding from your bottom.
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You can pass mpox on to others while you still have symptoms.
It was first discovered in 1958 when scientists found a pox-like disease in monkeys. For many years, most human cases occurred in Central and West Africa, usually after people had close contact with infected animals.
In 2022, scientists confirmed that mpox could spread through sexual contact. This led to outbreaks in more than 70 countries where the disease had not been reported before.
'Breach of the public’s trust'
Munster ‘adamantly denied’ returning to the US with biological materials or samples, according to an FBI court filing.
Tests eventually revealed that Munster and Kwe were travelling with vials of deactivated mpox, the FBI said, which the two scientists had failed to declare or obtain the necessary permission.
“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,” said Marcus Sykes of the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, AP reports.
“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.”
Kwe and Munster did not respond to requests for comment, AP said.
The FBI said there was no mention in the government’s court filing about why Munster and Kwe might have wanted to bring deactivated mpox virus to their lab. However, they are virologists and have worked ‘extensively’ on researching this particular virus.
“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.
Greg Harris