Crimes

Hundreds of vials containing viruses have been stolen from a laboratory in Australia, prompting an investigation into the incident.

Tim Nicholls, Queensland’s Minister of Health, announced on Monday that 323 samples of live viruses went missing in 2021 due to a "serious breach of biosecurity protocols."

However, it took an additional two years for the breach to be identified, during which time a hundred vials containing the deadly Hendra virus disappeared.

The Hendra virus, first discovered in the mid-1990s following the deaths of several horses in Australia, is known to be fatal to humans and is transmitted exclusively by bats.

"Hendra virus has a 57 percent fatality rate in humans and has had a devastating impact on those who have been infected, their families and on the veterinary and equine industries in areas where the virus spills over," Raina Plowright, a professor at the department of public and ecosystem health at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, previously told Newsweek.

(QG - Source: Newsweek / Picture: © Pixabay)