Hundreds of samples of the deadly virus have disappeared, making you nervous? Disposal?
Dec 12, 2024
|
According to Fox News and other foreign media, the Queensland government in Australia recently announced the fact and said it was conducting a follow-up investigation.
It has been reported that 323 vials have disappeared due to Hendra virus, Lyssavirus, and Hanta virus.
Hendra virus is a rare zoonotic disease originating from bats, which can mainly be transmitted to horses and humans.
Lisa virus is the causative virus of rabies, and hanta virus can cause pandemic hemorrhagic fever.
All three viruses cause fatal diseases, with some hantaviruses known to be more than 100 times lethal than COVID-19, with a fatality rate of up to 15%, and others to be more similar to COVID-19 in terms of severity.
Queensland health officials found that samples disappeared from Queensland's public health virology laboratory in August 2023.
The laboratory where samples disappeared is where diagnostic services, surveillance, and research are conducted for medically important viruses and mosquito and tick-borne pathogens.
Health authorities say there is no evidence that there is a danger to the community" he said.
But infectious disease experts say this is a serious biosecurity failure"All of these viruses have significant consequences and can pose a threat to the public" he warned.
In response, a health official said "Viral samples can decompose very quickly outside cold freezers and become non-infectious."It is very unlikely that the sample was thrown away with general waste because it is not a routine laboratory practice."
It also added that there has been no human infection in Queensland with the Hendra virus or Lisa virus in the past five years, nor has there been any confirmed hantavirus infection in Australia.
Queensland is working with the Australian government to locate the virus and will investigate lab operations policies and procedures.
It also announced that it would retrain its employees.
Some point out that it is incomprehensible that it took more than a year for the news of the leak to be disclosed.
One expert stressed that "much more investment and transparency are needed when it comes to pathogen biosecurity."
bellho@sportschosun.com
