Hundreds of Vials of Deadly Viruses Missing After Lab Breach
NewsweekDec 08
Over 300 Deadly Virus Samples Missing From Australian Lab
Above: A pharmacist preps a COVID vaccine. Image copyright: Steven Cornfield via Unsplash
The Facts
Australia's Queensland government announced on Monday that hundreds of vials containing deadly viruses — including Hendra virus, Lyssavirus, and Hantavirus — went missing from the state-run Public Health Virology Laboratory in 2021.
The breach was discovered in August 2023 when samples were found unaccounted for after being transferred — without proper documentation — between freezers during a breakdown. It's unclear whether the samples were stolen or destroyed.
The Spin
Narrative A
The breach represents a critical biosecurity lapse with potentially severe consequences, as these pathogens have fatality rates up to 100 times higher than COVID. Given the high risk to animals and livestock from all three viruses, the government needs to invest more in pathogen biosecurity and ensure greater transparency so such lapses are avoided in the future.
Narrative B
The three pathogens can have very high fatality rates, but the risk to public safety remains minimal as they have limited capacity for person-to-person transmission, and there's no evidence of theft. Additionally, the viruses involved would quickly lose their ability to infect outside proper storage conditions. Queensland Health should be applauded for its thorough investigation.