Authorities in Queensland, Australia, have confirmed a “major historical breach of biosecurity protocols” after hundreds of virus samples went missing from a public health laboratory. Queensland Health has been directed to launch an investigation into the incident, which is described as an unacceptable lapse in safety measures.
According to an official statement by the Queensland government on Monday, 323 vials containing dangerous viruses, including Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus, went missing from the Queensland Public Health Virology Laboratory in August 2023.
The Hendra virus, only found in Australia, is a zoonotic virus that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Lyssavirus is a family of viruses that includes rabies, which can be fatal without proper medical intervention. Similarly, Hantavirus can cause serious illness and death, as noted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The laboratory where the breach occurred is responsible for providing diagnostic services, research, and surveillance for various pathogens, including viruses carried by mosquitoes and ticks. But it remains unclear whether the missing samples were stolen, destroyed or just lost. The government statement assures the public that there is “no evidence of risk to the community” at this time.
In response to the breach, Queensland Health has launched an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and prevent similar occurrences in the future. Timothy Nicholls, the Minister for Queensland Health, said in a statement, “With such a serious breach of biosecurity protocols and infectious virus samples potentially missing, Queensland Health must investigate what occurred and how to prevent it from happening again.” Nicholls added that the investigation would also examine the laboratory’s current policies, procedures and staff conduct.
Experts have expressed concern about the gravity of the situation. According to Fox News Digital, Sam Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences at Northeastern University, US, called the incident a “critical biosecurity lapse,” adding, “The pathogens reported missing are all high-consequence and could pose a threat to the public.”
Scarpino pointed out that some strains of Hantavirus have case fatality rates of up to 15 per cent, far higher than the fatality rate of COVID-19.
Despite the severity of these pathogens, Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, Dr John Gerrard, reassured the public through a media statement that there is no evidence of a risk to public health, saying that the virus samples would “degrade very rapidly outside a low-temperature freezer and become non-infectious.”
Dr. Gerrard also highlighted that Queensland has not had any reported human cases of Hendra or Lyssavirus in the last five years, and no confirmed Hantavirus infections have ever been recorded in Australia.
