Hundreds of infectious virus samples have gone missing, sparking an investigation into another state-run laboratory bungle.
In a “major breach” of biosecurity control, a Queensland lab has lost 323 samples including almost 100 of the potentially deadly Hendra virus.
However, the state government on Monday said there was no risk to the community.
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Samples of Hendra, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus appear to have been lost at a state-run virology lab in 2021 but were not discovered missing until last year.
It appears the materials – including 223 samples of Lyssavirus – were unaccounted for after a storage freezer broke down.
Lyssaviruses are a group of viruses that includes rabies.
Hundreds of infectious virus samples have gone missing, sparking an investigation into another state-run laboratory bungle. Credit: 7NEWS The missing materials also include two samples of Hantavirus, a rodent-borne virus that can cause illness to humans.
The lab has not been able to confirm whether the samples were removed or destroyed.
“It’s this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern,” Health Minister Tim 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.”
Nothing indicated the samples were stolen or taken from the laboratory, with the state government playing down the public health risk.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls says lost virus samples were moved without the appropriate paperwork. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP “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.”
The bungle comes after issues exposed at a DNA lab run by the previous Labor government triggered two inquiries in as many years.
The first probe found many DNA samples went untested and others were incorrectly ruled insufficient.
The other inquiry found an automated extraction method yielded up to 92 per cent less DNA than the manual technique.
The failure may have led to offenders escaping conviction over nine years, with up to 100,000 samples set to be re-tested.
The lab has not been able to confirm whether the samples were removed or destroyed. Credit: 7NEWS Labor’s nine-year reign ended when the Liberal National Party claimed the October 26 election.
The investigation into the latest lab bungle will be led by retired Supreme Court Justice Martin Daubney AM KC alongside Julian Druce, the previous head of the Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory.
“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,” Nicholls said.