Virus samples go missing from a lab in Australia in ‘major’ biosecurity breach
Three virus samples have disappeared from a Queensland laboratory.
Samples of Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus are still missing after going missing from Queensland’s Public Health Virology Laboratory in August 2023.
The laboratory has not been able to confirm whether the viruses were removed from secure storage or destroyed.
“With such a serious breach of biosecurity protocols and possible missing samples of infectious viruses, Queensland Health must investigate what happened and how to prevent this from happening again,” Health Minister Tim Nicholls told the newspaper. Courier mail.
However, Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the risk to Queenslanders was minimal.
Retired High Court judge Martin Daubney will lead an investigation into how the monster went missing.
Samples of Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus went missing from Queensland’s Public Health Virology Laboratory in August 2023 and have still not been found
Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the loss of the virus samples represented a serious breach of biosecurity protocols
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