Ebola packages likely a hoax, says US czar

The U.S. is monitoring reports that New Zealand’s Parliament and top newspaper received packages purportedly containing vials of the Ebola virus but believes the incident was most likely a hoax, the White House said Tuesday.

Ebola czar Ron Klain told CNN he was briefed on the incident earlier in the day, but based on the best available intelligence information, “odds are high that this turns out to be a hoax.”

{mosads}The New Zealand Herald reported that its Auckland headquarters received a small bottle of liquid with an accompanying message suggesting it contained Ebola. Hours later, the mailroom at the Parliament building in Wellington was also closed, after it received of a similar suspicious package. Both packages have been forwarded for forensic testing.

Sky News reported independently that the packages had been sent by a “jihadist group.”

Klain said “New Zealand officials are taking no chances” but that the U.S. was skeptical that the vials actually contained the virus.

“We’re not aware of any credible threat Ebola will be used in that way,” Klain said. “And frankly, it’s pretty unlikely.”

At the same time, Klain said the administration was “always watching intelligence traffic and other indicators to see if terrorist groups will use any chemical or biological agent.”

Last month, some congressional Republicans expressed concern Ebola could be used by terrorist groups. Lawmakers argued that such a possibility was reason for the U.S. to implement a travel ban on individuals traveling from the West African countries where the outbreak is concentrated.

“This could be a place for terrorists to engage,” Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.), the chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism, told The Blaze. “We have limited our scope and are not respecting that we are living in unchartered time. They are unrelenting. If they could get infected with the virus, they could try to pass it on to others.”

Health experts have said Ebola would be difficult to weaponize because it must be spread through the transmission of body fluids.