Why are we only now hearing about the deadly viruses that went missing from a lab 2 years ago?
Key Takeaways
Industry Buzz
“It’s this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern, [as] the materials may have been removed from that secure storage and lost, or otherwise unaccounted-for.” — Australian Health Minister Tim Nicholls, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
From anthrax in Sverdlovsk, USSR, in 1979 to the SARS virus incidents in Beijing in 2004, breaches from biohazard labs have repeatedly demonstrated their potential to endanger public health.[][]
And the phenomenon of APELS, or accidental pathogen escape from laboratory settings—has long been a thorn in the side of global biosecurity.
Between 2000 and 2021 alone, there were at least 16 confirmed APELS incidents involving pathogens as dangerous as Bacillus anthracis, SARS-CoV, and the variola virus.[]
This concern resurfaced recently with a biosecurity breach in Queensland, Australia, when over 323 vials containing live viruses—Hendra virus (HeV), lyssavirus, and hantavirus—vanished from a public health laboratory.[] Let’s take a closer look at the potential impacts to you and your patients.
@7newsq Hundreds of virus samples have gone missing from a Queensland laboratory in a major biosecurity breach. An investigation has been launched into the 'administrative' blunderwith reassurances there's no risk to the public.#7NEWS
♬ original sound - 7NEWS Queensland
Investigating the breach
The missing virus samples were originally stored at Queensland’s Public Health Virology Laboratory but got lost in 2021 after a freezer malfunction.[] They were moved to another freezer, but no proper records were kept during the transfer. This lack of documentation and loss of vials was only discovered in August 2023. Australian Health Minister Tim Nicholls explained, “It’s this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern.”[] He added that the samples might have been simply misplaced or lost, but not stolen.
Theoretically, the biosecurity breach in the documentation and management of these high-risk pathogens poses risks of accidental exposure and the possibility of malicious misuse.
However, Nicholls clarified that there is no evidence of foul play, or any indication the vials were taken or stolen from the lab.
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard assured everyone that the public is at minimal risk. He explained it’s very unlikely that the viruses were weaponized in any way, calling weaponizing a very “sophisticated” process, not something that an amateur would do. Gerrard also mentioned that “these virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low-temperature freezer and become non-infectious."
Profiling the missing viruses
Hendra virus
First identified in 1994 in Hendra, Brisbane, the HeV is a zoonotic pathogen transmitted primarily from horses to humans via close contact. It is classified as a biosafety level 4 (highest) organism due to its high fatality rate—60% in humans.[]
Symptoms in humans range from influenza-like illness to severe respiratory or neurological disease. Relapsing encephalitis has been reported months after recovery, due to the virus's long latency.
Hendra virus spillovers are increasingly tied to climate-driven shifts in bat populations, which act as natural reservoirs. As bat territories expand, so does the risk of human exposure.
Lyssavirus
A close relative of the rabies virus, lyssavirus can infect all mammals. Rabies lyssavirus alone claims 59,000 human lives annually; it is endemic in mainland Africa, which has the highest per capita death rate from rabies globally. Infections result from bites or scratches from dogs and bats.[]
The virus travels via the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system, causing encephalitis. The rabies vaccine offers effective prophylaxis, but there are no curative treatments for symptomatic cases.
Hantavirus
Hantaviruses are rodent-borne pathogens that cause hantavirus cardio-pulmonary syndrome (HCPS) or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). With mortality rates up to 40%-60% for HCPS,[] these viruses are classified as biosafety level 3 organisms.[]
The 1993 Four Corners outbreak in the US spotlighted hantavirus as a lethal pathogen capable of causing rapid respiratory failure. Environmental changes have brought humans into closer contact with rodent carriers, increasing the risk of zoonotic spillage of this virus.[]
What’s at stake?
Procedural lapses—ranging from broken vials to improper hand washing—are the leading causes of laboratory-acquired infections worldwide, accounting for 69.3% of incidents.[] A troubling aspect of such breaches is their often delayed detection. In Queensland, it took 2 years before the missing vials were identified.
While most breaches remain contained within secondary barriers, as was likely the case in Queensland, the potential for external escapes, as seen in Singapore’s SARS-CoV incident, is ever-present.[]
Although the samples went missing in 2021 and the breach was discovered in August 2023, it wasn't until December 2024 that the Queensland government announced the issue and initiated an investigation. The investigation is trying to find out how the breach happened and why it went unnoticed for 2 years.[]
Infectious diseases expert Dr. Paul Griffin told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that such breaches in handling dangerous viruses are unacceptable.[]
"The systems and processes in laboratories handling such deadly pathogens are usually so robust and rigorous … these sort of things just can't happen," he said. "So, it’s's very disappointing to hear about the breach, especially to be finding out about it so far down the track."
Nicholls stressed the need for better protocols: “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.”[]
What this means for you
While public risk is deemed low, physicians must remain alert to zoonotic pathogens which can become potential bioterrorism agents. These viruses, although naturally contained within animal reservoirs, pose a threat due to their high animal-to-human transmission potential and resistance to current therapeutic options.