Prohibited porcupine quills intercepted
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discovered 100 porcupine quills in passenger baggage exactly one month ago, on 21 April 2021, at Washington airport (IAD).
African porcupine quills are prohibited as potential vector for diseases, such as monkeypox virus. The USA last experienced a monkeypox virus outbreak in 2003.
According to the centres for disease control and prevention, 47 confirmed and probable cases of monkeypox were reported from six states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Investigators determined that a shipment of animals from Ghana introduced monkeypox virus.
During a typical day last year, CBP agriculture specialists across the nation seized 3,091 prohibited plant, meat, animal by-products and soil, and intercepted 250 insect pests at US ports of entry. (ah)