Deadly Virus Samples ‘Lost’ at Australian Lab

Hundreds of virus samples, including nearly 100 live samples, have been “lost” by an Australian laboratory, Australia’s ABC News reported.

Among the 323 samples that apparently went missing in 2021 after a storage freezer broke down at the state-run Virology Laboratory in Queensland were samples of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced this week that an investigation is underway, to be led by former Supreme Court Justice Martin Daubney. The breach was revealed in 2023, Nicholls said.

“The materials may have been removed from that secure storage and lost, or otherwise unaccounted-for,” he said.

According to Chief Health Officer Dr. John Gerrard, the risk to the community is very low. “It is important to note that these virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low-temperature freezer and become non-infectious,” he said.

“No Hendra or lyssavirus cases have been detected among humans in Queensland over the past five years, and there has been no report of hantavirus infections in humans ever in Australia.”