However, a later investigation found that the samples were likely listed as missing due to incomplete lab records rather than being lost or stolen. Officials also said there was no risk or harm to lab staff or the public. Further, there is no evidence that the Queensland lab issue was connected to the May 2026 hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius.

In May 2026, social media users shared posts claiming that hundreds of vials containing deadly viruses, including hantavirus, had gone missing from a laboratory in Australia.

One version (archived) of the claim read:

BREAKING: ‼️ 323 vials containing deadly viruses go missing from a lab in Australia — ABC NewsAmong them, nearly 100 vials contained the Hendra virus (transmitted from horses to humans, with a 57% fatality rate). Two vials contained the hantavirus (spread by rodents, with a 38% fatality rate), and 223 vials contained the lyssavirus (rabies virus, with an almost 100% fatality rate).The most likely cause of the "disappearance" is thought to be the loss of containers during transfer to a new freezer. The Ministry of Health is conducting an investigation

The claim circulated on various social media platforms, including X, Reddit, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Some versions noted that the lab incident was supposedly reported in 2024, while others shared it alongside discussion of a 2026 outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius. Other posts included video from what appeared to be a government news conference or claimed the vials "were never found."

In short, the claim stems from a real Queensland government announcement but omits key context from a subsequent investigation. In 2024, Queensland officials said hundreds of infectious virus samples, including hantavirus, were unaccounted for at the state's Public Health Virology Laboratory. The video circulating online was authentic and showed Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls speaking about the incident. However, a later official investigation found the samples were likely listed as missing due to incomplete lab records rather than being lost or stolen.

We found no evidence that the Queensland lab incident was connected to the 2026 Andes virus outbreak, contrary to posts' suggestions.

What Queensland officials said in 2024

On Dec. 9, 2024, the Queensland government announced an investigation into what it called a "major historical breach of biosecurity protocols" at the state's Public Health Virology Laboratory. The government said samples of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus were "unaccounted for" and that the issue was discovered in August 2023.

Although the announcement came in 2024, officials and news reports said the breach dated back to 2021, when a freezer storing the samples broke down and up to 323 vials of infectious virus samples appeared to have gone missing.

The Queensland government statement said the laboratory was unable to determine whether the materials were removed from secure storage or destroyed. However, it also said there was "no evidence of risk to the community."

Queensland's then-Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the virus samples would degrade rapidly outside low-temperature freezer storage and become noninfectious. He said the samples were most likely destroyed by routine autoclaving but not adequately recorded.

What a later investigation found

Queensland Health released the findings of an independent investigation into the incident on Sept. 3, 2025. The agency said the samples were unlikely to have been lost or stolen, and were instead unaccounted for due to incomplete lab records, adding that the breach caused "no risk or harm" to staff or the broader community.

The investigation report described problems with the lab's records after a freezer failure in 2021. It noted a lack of proper records for material moved from the failed freezer to a new one, as well as material discarded and destroyed in July 2021.

The report also addressed the hantavirus samples specifically. It said records showed that two 50-milliliter tubes of hantavirus had been stored in the freezer in the 2000s. However, investigators said those hantavirus samples had likely been discarded before 2010 but the lab's storage register was not updated to reflect that development. 

The report did not find that the samples had been stolen, removed from the lab or linked to any outbreak.

What about the 2026 cruise ship outbreak?

The claim resurfaced in May 2026 while public health agencies responded to a hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius.

The Australian Center for Disease Control said on May 6, 2026, that there was a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship off the coast of Praia, Cape Verde, in the Atlantic Ocean. The agency said WHO was managing the international response and assessed the global risk from the event as low.

The Australian agency also noted that hantavirus had never been reported in humans in Australia. It said different hantaviruses occur in different parts of the world, and that Andes virus — the strain identified in the cruise ship outbreak — is a rare exception among hantaviruses because it can spread between people after close, prolonged contact.

As of May 13, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control identified 11 cases, including three deaths, linked to the outbreak.

Some social media posts appeared to suggest the missing lab samples in Australia were linked to the 2026 cruise ship outbreak. We found no evidence of such a connection. 

The implication that the Queensland lab samples contained Andes virus was also unsupported. Queensland Health records listed the lab's hantavirus permits to Hantaan, Puumala and Seoul viruses, not Andes virus. 

For further reading, we've covered several rumors tied to the 2026 hantavirus outbreak, including a false claim related to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and a supposed 2022 prediction of the outbreak.