Hundreds of deadly virus samples have vanished from an Australian lab in a ‘major breach’ of biosecurity.
Yesterday, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls has announced that 323 vials of live viruses are now unaccounted for.
These include nearly 100 vials of hendra virus, two vials of hantavirus, and 223 vials of lyssavirus – all of which are extremely deadly for humans.
Queensland authorities insist that while the samples could be weaponised, this is ‘not something an amateur does’.
The samples went missing in 2021 but investigators only confirmed the breach in August 2023.
It is believed that the vials of deadly viruses were lost by Queensland’s Public Health Virology Laboratory when the freezer they were being stored in broke down.
Speaking at a press conference, Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said: ‘It’s this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern.
‘They were transferred to a functioning freezer without the appropriate paperwork being completed. The materials may have been removed from that secure storage and lost, or otherwise unaccounted-for.’
Scientists at a virus lab in Australia have lost over 300 samples of deadly viruses in a ‘major breach’ of biosecurity (stock image)
Queensland health minister Tim Nicholls (pictured) revealed that the samples had been lost in 2021 but that their disappearance was not discovered until August 2023
The three strains of virus leaked from the lab all have the potential to be deadly for humans.
Hendra virus primarily infects horses but has the ability to jump to humans where it has an estimated 57 per cent mortality rate.
The virus was first discovered in 1994 after an outbreak infected 21 racehorses and two humans in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra.
According to the WHO, the virus’ natural hosts are fruitbats from which the infection jumped into horses and then humans.
Hantavirus is another animal-borne, or zoonotic, virus which originates in rats and is spread in their droppings, urine, and saliva.
In humans, the virus causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome which leads to fever, chills, nausea, diarrhea, and the lungs filling with fluid.
According to the CDC, the infection is deadly in 38 per cent of all symptomatic cases.
Lyssavirus, meanwhile, is a form of rabies which can infect humans and other mammals.
The samples include 100 vials of hendra virus (pictured) a deadly virus which infects horses and humans and has a mortality rate of 57 per cent
The virus’ which have been leaked were all examples of ‘zoonotic viruses’ which spread from animals to humans. There is a growing concern around the world that the trade in wild animals and destruction of habitats could increae the risk of a pandemic caused by a zoonotic virus
Once symptoms of a lyssavirus infection arise there is no known cure and it is almost always fatal, leading to an estimated 59,000 human deaths around the world each year.
Queensland authorities were only able to confirm that the samples were missing this month after waiting a year for approval to open the freezer where they were stored.
It is not clear where the samples might be or if they have already been destroyed.
However, there is currently no evidence to suggest that members of the public have been put at risk of infection by the material’s disappearance.
Mr Gerrard says: ‘It’s difficult to conceive of a scenario whereby the public could be at risk.
‘It’s important to note that virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low temperature freezer and become non-infectious.
‘It’s most likely that the samples were destroyed by autoclaving as is routine laboratory practice and not adequately recorded.’
Mr Gerrard says that it is very unlikely that the samples would have been discarded along with the laboratories general waste.
Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard (pictured) said there was no evidence the samples had been stolen or weaponised. He claims it is more likely that the samples were simply lost while being transferred between freezers
He adds: ”Importantly, no Hendra or Lyssavirus cases have been detected among humans in Queensland over the past five years, and there have been no reports of Hantavirus infections in humans ever in Australia.’
Nor is there any reason to believe that the lab samples were stolen deliberately for any malicious purpose.
While the viruses themselves can be dangerous, their low infection rates mean that they would not be viable bioweapons without significant genetic engineering.
Speaking at a press conference Mr Gerrard said: ‘There is nothing to suggest that these have been taken from the laboratory. Secondly, […] we don’t have any evidence that hendra virus has been weaponized in any way in any research laboratory.
‘Of course, all this kind of research is taken in secret, but we are not aware that this has been weaponized in any way.
‘The process of weaponizing a virus is very sophisticated, and is not something an amateur does.’
Queensland Health has now commissioned an independent investigation into how the samples could have been lost and how to ensure this does not happen again.
The investigation will be headed by retired Supreme Court Judge the Hon Martin Daubney AM KC alongside biosecurity expert Dr Julian Druce as co-investigator.
There have been no infections related to the three strains of viruses lost by the lab. However, there is currently no indication where the 323 vials of viruses might be (stock image)
Mr Nicholls said the Health Department has advised him measures have been taken to ensure such a thing does not happen again.
Those measures include retraining staff to ensure compliance with regulations and an audit of all relevant permits to ensure accountability and correct storage of materials.
Speaking at a press conference, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said: ‘I want to stress that there have been no public health incidents linked to these materials.
‘So we have no evidence so far of any event occurring as a result of the loss or destruction of these materials.’
