Allegations of Biological Weapons Use - Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 - page 266

both chicken and pig farms in March 1962 by unspecified (probably in-
cendiary) means is recorded. 85
In addition, a declassified telephone memo suggests that the CIA may
have known something about the incident after all. Donald Massey, of
the CIA Office of Legislative Counsel, left a telephone message for John
Waller, inspector general of the CIA, indicating that he had the signed
letter from Turner to Inouye (mentioned above), but wished to talk to
Waller before sending it. In a handwritten note on the memo, Waller
wrote: “Called Massey—1620, 15 June '77—and said we had records
indicating CIA knowledge or connection.” 86 While this may be the result
of a slip of the pen, leaving out a “no,” it does cast some doubt on the
denials.
The 1971 African Swine Fever Outbreak
The second allegation is that African swine fever (ASF) was deliberately
introduced into Cuba in 1971. 87 This was the first time the disease had
been seen in the Western Hemisphere (although it has since emerged in
Central and South America several times), so it was a noteworthy event
in world animal health circles. The details of the outbreak have been de-
scribed in the scientific literature. 88
The disease was first identified on 6 May in a fattening piggery, and it
then spread throughout Havana Province. The outbreak affected both
state-run piggeries, containing thousands of animals, and small-scale ru-
ral, suburban, and urban backyard husbandry. Over 12,000 animals died
of disease, and more than 20,000 exposed animals were culled. Preventa-
tive slaughter of all other pigs in Havana Province added another 380,000
privately owned animals and 30,000 state-owned animals. The cumula-
tive pig mortality due to disease, culling, and forced slaughter was in ex-
cess of 445,000 animals, over a period of about a month.
ASF is a highly contagious disease, caused by a virus that is stable for
long periods in infected tissue and fluids. It is readily transmitted among
animals by direct contact and by fomites. Outbreaks in new areas are
caused by the practice of including food scraps from restaurants, ships,
and airplanes in pig swill; disease transmission results if garbage includes
infected material and if it is inadequately sterilized. In 1971 ASF was
found sporadically in domestic swine in southern and eastern Africa, and