@RandPaul https://t.co/c1yI3EAkoq Links between infrastructure for human movement and early Ebola outbreak trajectories
Alexandria Gonzalez 1, Behnam Nikparvar 1, M Jeremiah Matson 2, Kelsee Baranowski 1, Stephanie N Seifert 3, Heather D Ross 4, Vincent Munster 5, Nita Bharti 1
NIH researchers charged with allegedly smuggling viral pathogens into the United States previously flew or planned to fly viral samples to the country, according to newly released emails.
Claude Kwe, who worked under Vincent Munster at the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, brought DNA from 35 samples that tested positive for monkeypox in 2024. Kwe wrote that they were eager to perform full genome sequencing on these samples, which contained or were derived from a select agent.
Munster separately discussed shipping samples of a monkeypox strain called the Congo Basin clade in 2022. In other emails, researchers discussed coronavirus samples, including having the Omicron variant brought to the United States without NIH shipping involvement. An outside researcher also proposed that Munster hand carry samples from Africa.
Sen. Rand Paul released the emails and stated that NIH scientists charged with attempting to smuggle monkeypox had a years-long history of skirting rules for moving dangerous pathogens. Federal prosecutors accused Kwe and Munster of smuggling monkeypox from the Republic of Congo and lying to investigators.
Emails from 2012 showed the NIH mislabeling a shipment of MERS coronavirus as diagnostic rather than infectious.
For years, these two NIH scientists allegedly smuggled monkeypox from the Republic of Congo, lying to investigators about what they did. To make matters even worse, they spent years skirting the rules for transporting dangerous pathogens.
"This is my brother, David, on his 50th birthday. All lives are worth celebrating, even the ones with an extra chromosome."
- Karen Czarnecki, Executive Director of Charlotte Lozier Institute
@pjd77420 You may also have to remove, as I did, pn after the patent number search. Idk why it did that, but after I removed pn, it generated the original screenshot. I feel like it's been modified to hide certain preliminary patents of origination.