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From Fox News: Hundreds of deadly virus samples are missing from a laboratory in Australia, the Queensland government announced on Monday.
The government has instructed Queensland Health — Australia’s public health department — to launch an investigation into what’s being described as a “major historical breach of biosecurity protocols,” according to the online media statement.
It was reported that 323 vials of multiple infectious viruses — including Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus — went missing from Queensland’s Public Health Virology Laboratory in August 2023.
Hendra is a zoonotic (animal-to-human) virus that has only been found in Australia.
Hantavirus is a family of viruses that can lead to serious illness and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while Lyssavirus is a group of viruses that can cause rabies.
The situation is serious enough that government officials made an announcement about the missing vials on Monday.
“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,” Minister Timothy Nicholls said.
However, Chief Health Officer Dr. John Gerrard claimed that there is no evidence of risk to the public, and said, “It’s important to note that virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low temperature freezer and become non-infectious.”
WATCH the news report below for more details on the alarming case:
“Nearly 100 live samples of…deadly Hendra virus have been lost in…biosecurity bungle at…state-run Queensland laboratory…[S]amples went missing from Virology Laboratory…in a ‘major breach’ of biosecurity protocol, Health Minister…Nicholls announced.”https://t.co/rbA3YC2LrE
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) December 9, 2024
Hundreds of Deadly Virus Samples Go Missing from Australian Lab
Hundreds of vials containing dangerous viruses, including Hendra, Lyssavirus, and Hantavirus, have gone missing from a Queensland laboratory due to a major biosecurity breach. Discovered in 2023 but dating back to… pic.twitter.com/XUWozjCqcQ
— McCullough Foundation (@McCulloughFund) December 9, 2024
Deadly virus samples went missing from lab in ‘major biosecurity breach,’ say authorities https://t.co/wz6KwcK5xS
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 10, 2024
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