Over 300 Vials of Viruses Potentially Lethal to Humans Reported Missing After 2021 Australian Lab Breach

Over 300 Vials of Viruses Potentially Lethal to Humans Reported Missing After 2021 Australian Lab Breach

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.

“There is nothing to suggest that these have been taken from the laboratory. Secondly […] we don’t have any evidence that Hendra virus has been weaponized in any way in any research laboratory,” Nicholls said at a press conference.

“Of course, all this kind of research is taken in secret, but we are not aware that this has been weaponized in any way. The process of weaponizing a virus is very sophisticated, and is not something an amateur does.”

None of these viruses are trivial microbes. Hendra virus is in the same family as Nipah Virus, a deadly pathogen with outbreaks in India that I have previously written about. The case fatality rate for the Hendra virus is 57% in humans.

Hendra virus (aka “HeV”) is a rare zoonotic disease that primarily affects horses and can be transmitted to humans. It was first identified in 1994 during an outbreak in Hendra, Australia. The natural reservoir of the virus is fruit bats of the genus Pteropus, also known as flying foxes.

HeV is transmitted from bats to horses, likely through contamination of feed or water with infected bat urine, saliva, or birthing fluids. Horses can then spread the virus to humans through close contact with respiratory secretions or other bodily fluids.

In 1994, the virus swept through racing stables in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, killing a trainer and 13 horses.

Since then, there have been 66 known outbreaks across Australia, killing four people and dozens of horses.

HeV tends to attack either the respiratory system or the nervous system. Fatal complications in humans have included septic pneumonia and encephalitis (severe brain inflammation and swelling). There is no vaccine, and without prompt medical treatment, the complications of HIV can be fatal.

The Lyssavirus genus includes several species, with rabies virus being the most well-known. Lyssaviruses are primarily transmitted through bites, scratches, or contact with infected saliva on mucous membranes. Bats are the principal reservoir hosts for most lyssaviruses. In Australia, fruit bats, flying foxes, and insect-eating microbats can carry Australian bat lyssavirus.

Lyssavirus infections typically have a long incubation period ranging from weeks to months. Early symptoms are flu-like, including fever, headache, and fatigue. The disease progresses rapidly, causing neurological symptoms such as confusion, convulsions, and loss of consciousness. Lyssavirus infections are almost always fatal once symptoms appear. In Australia, three deaths have been linked to this pathogen.

Hantavirus is a viral infection spread by rodents, particularly mice and rats, through their urine, droppings, and saliva. The virus can cause severe, life-threatening diseases in humans, primarily affecting the lungs or kidneys. Humans typically contract hantavirus by breathing in contaminated air when rodent droppings or nests are disturbed, which can occur when cleaning or entering enclosed spaces that have been unoccupied for long periods.

There have been no reported cases in Australia. However, there are 200,000 reported annually around the world, including 200 of the cardiopulmonary-type Hantavirus in this country that has a 40-60% case fatality rate in humans.

The experts investigating this situation are offering assurances that there is low risk to the public.

“It is important to note that these virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low temperature freezer and become non-infectious,” Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said.

“No Hendra or Lyssavirus cases have been detected among humans in Queensland over the past five years, and there has been no report of Hantavirus infections in humans ever in Australia.”

Though I think we can all agree with Sam Scarpino, the director of AI and life sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, confirmed that the situation in Australia amounts to a “critical biosecurity lapse.”

“The pathogens reported missing are all high-consequence and could pose a threat to the public,” he told Fox News Digital.

…Scarpino said, “It’s important to understand where these samples ended up, to confirm that there is no longer a risk of exposure.”

“While I applaud the Australian government for taking this seriously, it’s unacceptable that it took over a year for news of the breach to be made public.”

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