Hundreds of vials containing deadly, live viruses and dangerous organisms went missing from an Australian laboratory in 2021, but no one noticed their disappearance until 2023, years after it occurred.
The disappearance of the samples, which included live samples of the highly dangerous Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus, was discovered in August of 2023 and has caused panic across the country despite reassurances from law enforcement that there is no immediate threat posed to civilians, reported Ponderwall.
"Hendra virus has a 57 percent fatality rate in humans and has had a devastating impact on those who have been infected, their families and on the veterinary and equine industries in areas where the virus spills over," Raina Plowright, a professor at the department of public and ecosystem health at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, told Newsweek.
A full-scale investigation has been launched into the lab's biosecurity protocols following the discovery of the breach. Queensland officials have indicated that there is no evidence of foul play or theft in relation to the missing samples, but many are still questioning lab security and safety protocols, especially in regard to the amount of time it took for anyone to notice that the breach had occurred in the first place.
The breach occurred after samples were transferred from one freezer to another. Improper documentation resulted in samples going missing, which triggered a biosecurity alarm. Minister Tim Nicholls stated his belief that the samples were misplaced due to improper handling, but authorities have been unable to confirm if they were misplaced or destroyed.
"It's this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern," Nicholls said in a statement. "They were transferred to a functioning freezer without the appropriate paperwork being completed."
"We are not aware that this has been weaponized in any way," he said, addressing concerns about what the samples could be used for. "The process of weaponizing a virus is very sophisticated and is not something an amateur does."
There is "no evidence of risk to the community from the breach," the Queensland government said in a statement. "It's important to note that virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low temperature freezer and become non-infectious."
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