Amplifying the coronavirus scare among the people in the US, a Chinese passenger was revealed to have sneaked into the US with a bag full of dead birds. The incident, both eerie and menacing, came to the light at the Dulles airport near Washington. The mysterious stash of small dead birds in the passenger's luggage was unearthed by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) specialists at the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The traveller came from Beijing, on January 27, 2020, and was travelling to Prince George's County in Maryland. ".@CBP agriculture specialists at Dulles airport continue to protect our nation's vital agricultural resources and our economy by intercepting potential animal threats, like those posed by these tiny dead birds from China packaged as "pet food." an official statement said. CBP Mid-Atlantic also tweeted the photos of the package. Though the incident happened two weeks ago, the CBP authorities revealed it only on February 10, 2020.
The CBP agriculture specialists found a transparent package with pictures of a cat and dog while examining the baggage. Later, it was found to be some unknown small dried birds about 2.5 to 3.5 inches in length. However, the passenger has claimed it to be pet food.
Import of birds from China prohibited
Meanwhile, many social media users claim that the language seen on the package is Japanese with many terrible mistakes. "The Japanese letters on the product doesn't make any sense, I guess Chinese company wrote it in order to pretend like Japanese product? (sic)," commented a Twitter user.
Due to the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza, birds from China are prohibited for import and the seized package has been destroyed with the approval of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The agriculture specialists at the airports in the US inspect the baggage of all passengers to safeguard America's agricultural and natural resources from harmful pests and plant diseases.
"Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists continue to exercise extraordinary vigilance every day in their fight to protect our nation's agricultural and economic prosperity from invasive pests and animal diseases," said Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP's Baltimore Field Office in a press release.
Rising death toll from Wuhan virus
Meanwhile, the CBP has claimed that the agriculture specialists across the nation have seized 4,695 prohibited plant, meat, animal byproduct and soil, and confiscated 314 insect pests at the U.S. ports of entry during a typical day the previous year.
The death toll due to deadly 'Covid-19' reached 1,115 on Tuesday. Similarly, 45,169 cases have been reported from around the world. Meanwhile, at least 500 medical staff, working at the front-line against the epidemic are reported to have contracted the deadly disease.
