NIH Scientists Charged in Monkeypox Case
In January, two scientists from the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories reentered the U.S. with a suspicious large black case that alerted customs officials. Upon further inspection, authorities found 113 undeclared microcentrifuge tubes packed in Styrofoam coolers, which included 17 samples later identified as having DNA from mpox (previously known as monkeypox) at an FBI lab.
Federal prosecutors have charged the scientists, notable virologist Vincent Munster and postdoctoral fellow Claude Kwe, with “conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States” and also for lying to federal law enforcement. As outlined in a criminal complaint released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, it’s claimed that Munster misled U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by stating the case was filled with diagnostics and testing tools.
U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. noted, “These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo. Let that sink in.”
Yet, some virologists, like Angela Rasmussen from the University of Saskatchewan, have pointed out that the mpox strains in question were inactivated, raising questions about their intended usage for diagnostics. “Inactivated monkeypox viruses are often used as controls in diagnostic tests or for assay development,” she mentioned, adding that Munster and his colleagues had published a study on the method in 2022.
Outbreak Context
Now known globally as mpox, following a name change by the World Health Organization to reduce stigma, the virus has become a topic of heated debate. Officials from the Trump administration have recently reverted to referring to it as monkeypox, contradicting the WHO’s efforts.
The virus primarily leads to flu-like symptoms, including fever, muscle pain, and swollen lymph nodes, alongside its characteristic rash. U.S. public health officials have stated that mpox “does NOT spread through the air or through casual contact like you’d have during travel.”
Although mpox can be fatal, it’s uncommon, with a mortality rate of about 3.1%. The majority of deaths have occurred among immunocompromised HIV patients in Africa, which coincidentally is where the NIH scientists had just returned from prior to their detainment.
Kwe reportedly told investigators that both he and Munster had arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport “from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo where the pair was helping study a strain of mpox currently causing an outbreak,” according to the complaint.
Strict Enforcement
Regardless of the scientists’ intentions, CBP’s Director of Field Operations, Marty C. Raybon, emphasized a strong stance on their prosecution: “We have zero tolerance for anyone who attempts to exploit our research frameworks, circumvent our border enforcement processes, or deceive investigators. We will remain fiercely vigilant against biological threats.”
The federal government has focused on the researchers’ international connections, pointing out Munster’s Dutch citizenship and Kwe’s from Cameroon when announcing the charges.
After sharing her thoughts with Science, Rasmussen voiced her concerns more strongly on social media: “The government is arresting government scientists for being foreign and for studying infectious disease outbreaks when their own evidence shows they’ve committed no crime,” she stated online.
Munster’s statements to CBP have been described as “materially false” in the complaint. Rasmussen suggested that the inactivated mpox were likely “actual diagnostic samples used as controls or for assay development.” Munster claimed the microcentrifuge tubes were part of a “fast RADI Mpox kit from KH Medical company,” including an “assay.” Ultimately, these matters will need to be settled in court, and both he and Kwe could face fines of up to $250,000 if found guilty, along with possible prison time.
