By Molly Slattery, ABC
Photo: AFP
Nearly 100 live samples of the deadly Hendra virus have been lost in a biosecurity bungle at a state-run Queensland laboratory.
An investigation has been launched after it was revealed 323 virus samples went missing from Virology Laboratory in 2021 in a "major breach" of biosecurity protocol, Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced on Monday.
The material, which included samples of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus, appears to have gone missing after a freezer storing the samples broke down.
Nicholls said the breach was uncovered in August 2023. The lab has been unable to say whether the materials were removed or destroyed.
"It's this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern," Nicholls said.
"They were transferred to a functioning freezer without the appropriate paperwork being completed.
"The materials may have been removed from that secure storage and lost, or otherwise unaccounted-for."
There is no suggestion the samples were taken or stolen from the laboratory.
Viruses would 'degrade rapidly'
Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the breach in record keeping was serious, but the risk to the community was very low.
"It is important to note that these virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low-temperature freezer and become non-infectious," he 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."
Hendra virus is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can spread from animals to people.
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.
The missing materials include 223 fragmented samples of lyssavirus, another potentially deadly disease similar to the rabies virus.
Review to probe how virus samples are kept in labs
Two full samples of hantavirus, which has never been recorded in humans in Australia, are also missing.
Asked why the public were not made aware of the breach sooner, Nicholls said that would form part of the review.
"These are all matters that I think the investigation will be able to provide us with information on," he said.
Former Supreme Court Justice Martin Daubney will lead the investigation.
Its terms of reference will consider the "management, administration, or delivery of public sector health services in the laboratory".
Internal policies and guidelines on how virus samples are kept in the lab will be analysed to see if they were correctly followed.
Recommendations will be made in a report to be delivered to the health department by 30 June this year.
The breach comes as thousands of DNA samples are being re-tested after historical flaws were uncovered in the state-run Forensic Science Queensland lab.
More than 40,000 criminal cases were affected by the discovery of systemic failures in the way DNA samples were analysed.
The findings sparked two commissions of inquiry, with the retesting process expected to take years.
-ABC