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The United States has charged two Chinese nationals with smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen called 'Fusarium Graminearum' into the country.
FBI Director Hash Patel broke the news on X (formerly Twitter) about the involvement of Chinese nationals, Yunqing Jian, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, in the alleged smuggling of a dangerous fungus, identified as an agroterrorism agent, into the U.S. to be researched at the University of Michigan, where she works.
Interpol understands agroterrorism as terrorist attacks directed against crops and livestock, to disrupt a population’s economy and food supply. It is a threat to human wealth, well-being and economies.
What is Fusarium Graminearum?
As per studies in the journal Science Direct, Fusarium graminearum is a fungus that causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) in cereal crops, including wheat, barley, rice, and oats, as well as ear rot and stalk rot in maize.
Experts opine that the threat caused by this fungus is multifaceted. It leads not only to yield and quality losses but also contaminates grains by producing mycotoxins that can prove to be hazardous to livestock and humans.
"This fungus can cause a disease called 'head blight', a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, causing significant health issues in both humans and livestock. It is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year," mentioned the tweet by the FBI director.
Fusarium head blight is a fungal disease that impacts cereal crops, reducing grain yield and contaminating it with toxins, thus making it unsuitable for consumption. In humans, the adverse effects of this fungus can lead to food poisoning, abdominal pain, diarrhea and headaches.
