Test tubes containing dangerous viruses, including hantavirus, went missing in Australia 0 15

Two test tubes containing hantavirus went missing from a laboratory in Australia in 2021. This was reported by the Mirror publication.

The disappearance was revealed in one of the state laboratories in Queensland, where specialists found that 323 test tubes with dangerous viruses were unaccounted for. Among the missing samples are two test tubes with hantavirus, 223 with lyssavirus, which is closely related to the rabies virus, and nearly 100 test tubes with Hendra virus, which is considered one of the most dangerous zoonotic pathogens in Australia.

The biological materials went missing back in 2021 during transfer between refrigeration units, but this became known only in 2024 — after an internal investigation. It is believed that some of the samples may have been accidentally destroyed due to a freezer malfunction and documentation violations. According to the Australian Department of Health, no signs of theft or leakage have been identified.

Previously, the Associated Press reported that passengers who disembarked from the infected MV Hondius liner before the official identification of the hantavirus outbreak are being sought across four continents. The infection has already been detected in Switzerland and Israel, and several people in California, USA, are under observation. The WHO warns of the risk of new cases: due to the long incubation period, infections may manifest weeks later.

Australian authorities claim that no signs of theft or leakage of dangerous pathogens have been identified so far. However, the incident has raised concerns amid the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship and the ongoing search for potentially infected passengers worldwide, writes bb.lv.