Three virus samples have disappeared from a Queensland laboratory.
The whereabouts of Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus samples remain unknown after they disappeared from the Queensland Public Health Virology Laboratory in August 2023.
The laboratory has not been able to confirm whether the viruses were removed from secure storage or destroyed.
“With such a serious breach of biosafety protocols and possible lack of infectious virus samples, Queensland Health must investigate what happened and how to prevent it from happening again,” Health Minister Tim Nicholls told the courier mail.
However, Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the risk to Queenslanders was minimal.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Martin Daubney will lead an investigation into how the sample disappeared.
More to come