In a significant biosecurity breach, 323 vials containing samples of viruses potentially lethal to humans disappeared from Queensland’s Public Health Virology Laboratory in Australia in 2021.

Even more disturbing, the incident was only discovered in August 2023, and information on the breach has just become public.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced today that 323 samples of live viruses—including Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus—went missing in 2021 in a “serious breach of biosecurity protocols.”

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

…The lab has not been able to conclude if the viruses were destroyed or removed from secure storage, but they do not appear to have been stolen...