Australia continues to investigate the disappearance of 323 vials of lethal pathogens from a lab – that occurred in 2021.
From here:
Missing Virus Vials Spark Investigation in Australia – Liberty One News
“The Australian government does not believe the vials were stolen. Instead, Nicholls suggested the loss likely resulted from a “transportation issue,” meaning the samples may have been misplaced during handling. “The materials may have been removed from secure storage and lost or otherwise unaccounted for,” he explained.”
Uh huh.
“The long-awaited investigation, which involved unlocking a freezer and comparing records of stored materials, finally began in 2024. It revealed discrepancies between the lab’s inventory and the actual samples on hand.”
Uh huh.
“The vials, including samples of the Hendra virus, hantavirus, and lyssavirus, went missing in 2021. However, the breach was not discovered until 2023, and only now, in 2024, has an investigation been launched to determine what went wrong.”
What went wrong? How about where the “eff” are the vials now!!!!
“The vials contained samples of three deadly zoonotic viruses, which can be transmitted from animals to humans:
1. Hendra Virus
o Discovered in the 1990s in Australia, this bat-borne virus has a fatality rate of 57%.
o It causes symptoms ranging from mild flu-like conditions to severe respiratory and neurological complications.
o While no treatment exists, a vaccine is available for horses, which are often intermediary hosts.
2. Hantavirus
o Spread through rodents, hantavirus is most commonly associated with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
o The virus has a 38% mortality rate and has recently caused fatalities in the United States, particularly in the Southwest.
3. Lyssavirus
o A rabies-related virus specific to Australia, lyssavirus spreads through contact with bats.”
Yikes!
“One hundred of the missing vials contained the Hendra virus, two contained hantaviruses, and the remainder held lyssavirus samples.”
Apparently, the viruses only remain alive in freezers and die quickly once removed.
Uh huh.
Well, no doubt, the number of such “transportation” foul-ups globally, is limited and there are all sorts of regulations covering the safety of dual purpose biolabs right?
From here:
Here’s a global map:
Far from being in remote areas, these accident prone BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs are located in areas of high population density,
What could possibly go wrong?
· 2004: SARS lab leak in Taiwan
· 2014: Anthrax lab leak in the United States
· 2019: SARS lab leak in Canada
Oh, and that Wuhan leak in 2019.
Onwards!!!
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