323 vials of deadly viruses disappeared from a laboratory in Australia

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nichols announced that 323 samples with deadly viruses – including Hendra virus, rabies virus and Hanta virus – were lost in 2021 as a result “serious breach of biosafety protocols”.

It should be noted that the rabies virus is the closest to the phenomenon “zombie” (it causes brain death in a sick person who tends to bite anyone who is nearby in order to transmit the virus)which has been portrayed so often on television and in film over the past twenty years.

The breach was discovered in August 2023, with almost 100 of the missing vials containing the Hendra virus, which is deadly. Two of the vials contained Hanta virus, while 223 vials contained rabies virus samples.

Hendra virus was first discovered in the mid-1990s after it infected and killed several horses in Australia. Only a small number of people contracted the disease after contact with horses, but a significant number of them died.

“Hendra virus has a mortality rate of 57% in humans and has a devastating impact on those infected, their families and the veterinary and equine industries in regions where the virus is spreading.”, — stated earlier in an interview with Newsweek Raina PlowrightProfessor of Community and Ecosystem Health at Cornell University Veterinary School.

Hanta virus is transmitted by rodents and can cause Hunt's pneumonia (HPS)which has a mortality rate of about 38%, while the rabies virus also has a very high mortality rate.

“These are serious viruses of animal origin that can kill a person if they become infected. However, infection usually requires hand-to-mouth transmission and does not spread, so the risk is limited to direct contact.” – said in an interview with Newsweek Ian JonesProfessor of Biology at the University of Reading in the UK.

The lab was unable to determine whether the viruses were destroyed or removed from secure storage, but it does not appear they were stolen. “There is no indication that they were removed from the laboratory. Secondly, […] We have no evidence that the Hendra virus has been weaponized in any way at any research facility.” Nichols said at a press conference.

“Of course, all this work is carried out in secrecy, but we do not know that any work has been carried out to create weapons. The process of creating a weapon from a virus is very complex and is not something that can be done by an amateur.”

The samples appear to have been lost after the freezer in which they were stored at the Queensland Public Health Virology Laboratory broke down.

“It's part of the material handling process that's causing concern,” Nichols said, as reported by local news agency ABC. “They were transported into a working freezer without proper paperwork. Materials may have been removed from this secure storage and lost or otherwise not recorded.”

According to the Queensland Government, there are no “signs of threat to society due to the violation”, since viruses quickly decompose and become safe for humans. “It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which society could be threatened — said the head of the Queensland Health Service in a statement John Gerard. – It is important to note that virus samples degrade quickly outside a low-temperature freezer and become non-infectious.”

Gerard noted that the samples were highly unlikely to have been disposed of in geological waste and were likely destroyed in an autoclave, according to normal laboratory protocols.

“Importantly, there have been no reported cases of Hendra virus or rabies virus in humans in Queensland over the past five years, and there have never been any human cases of Hanta virus reported in Australia.” – Gerard explained.

Andrew Prestonprofessor of microbial pathogenicity at the University of Bath in the UK, agreed. “Viruses depend on the presence of a host for their survival. Most viruses have a very limited survival time in the environment. To preserve infectious stocks in laboratories, they must either develop in cells or be stored at extremely low temperatures, – Preston said in an interview with Newsweek. – Unless these vials were in a freezer at extremely low temperatures, minus 80 degrees Celsius [минус 112 Ф]then an ordinary home freezer has a temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius, and viruses would not survive at this temperature, then they would quickly decompose and lose their infectivity within a few days. In theory, if someone was exposed to the contents of the vial, they could be at risk of infection, but only for the time immediately after they are removed from the freezer.”

An investigation into the breach has been launched to help determine how exactly these viruses were lost and what prevented the breach from being discovered for almost two years. “With such a serious breach of biosecurity protocols and potentially missing infectious virus samples, Queensland Health must investigate what happened and how to prevent a recurrence.” Nichols said in a statement.

“I have been advised that Queensland Health has taken preventative measures following the discovery of the breaches, including re-training staff to ensure continued compliance with required regulations and reviewing all relevant licenses to ensure accountability and proper storage of materials.”– summed up the Queensland Health Minister in a statement.

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