Lab owner pleads guilty to faking COVID test results during pandemicArs TechnicaIll-gotten millions bought a Bentley, Lamborghini, Tesla X, and crypto, among other things.
)
Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced today that 323 samples of live viruses—including Hendra virus, Lyssavirus and Hantavirus—went missing in 2021 in a “serious breach of biosecurity protocols.”Voilà qui est rassurant !
The breach was discovered in August 2023, with nearly 100 of the missing vials containing Hendra virus, which is deadly. Two of the vials contained hantavirus, while 223 vials contained samples of lyssavirus.
The lab has not been able to conclude if the viruses were destroyed or removed from secure storage, but they do not appear to have been stolen.
“There is nothing to suggest that these have been taken from the laboratory. Secondly […] we don’t have any evidence that Hendra virus has been weaponized in any way in any research laboratory,” Nicholls said at a press conference.
“Of course, all this kind of research is taken in secret, but we are not aware that this has been weaponized in any way. The process of weaponizing a virus is very sophisticated, and is not something an amateur does.”
An investigation into the breach has been initiated, which hopes to find out exactly how these viruses went missing and what prevented the discovery of the breach for nearly two years.
"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 in the statement.
"The Part 9 Investigation will ensure nothing has been overlooked in responding to this incident and examine the current policies and procedures in operation today at the laboratory," he said.
"I'm advised Queensland Health has taken proactive measures since discovering the breaches including retraining staff to ensure ongoing compliance with required regulations and an audit of all relevant permits to ensure accountability and correct storage of materials."
