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It's the stuff that thrillers are made out of. A laboratory that houses infectious diseases is broken into by a terrorist or covert operative, intent on spreading an illness into a plague that infects a huge portion of the world. All they need is a single vial. Then, before anyone knows that the vial is gone, the thief disappears into the dead of night.

That is likely not what occurred here, but minds are running wild. The University of Texas Medical Branch has reported that a vial of the Venezuelan virus Guanarito has gone missing from the premises. The virus is native to a specific portion of Venezuela; though it is unknown outside of that region, the virus holds special interest to the federal government. That is because Guanarito can be harnessed by terrorists, the Houston Chronicle reports. According to RedOrbit, symptoms of Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever can include bleeding from the eyeballs, coma, seizures and kidney failure.

However, officials do not suspect that the general public is at risk for the disease. The missing vial contains less than a quarter teaspoon of the virus. In addition, the virus is believed to only have the ability to be transmitted by Venezuelan rats; American rats are believed to be incapable of spreading the infection, and there have been no recorded cases of person-to-person transmission, as Government Security News reports. The vial was also housed in a secure facility that is designed to handle dangerous biological materials carefully.

"UTMB has confirmed that there was no breach in the facility's security and there is no indication that any wrongdoing is involved," Dr. David Callender, the President of the University of Texas Medical Branch, said in a statement. "The investigation continues, but at this time, it is likely, but not confirmed, that the vial was destroyed during normal laboratory sterilization practices."

The vial was determined to be missing during a routine inspection on Wednesday. Scott Weaver, the scientific director of the laboratory, said to the Houston Chronicle that it was likely that the vial became attached to a finger or glove and fell to the laboratory floor.

In the meantime, the university is reviewing its security process in order to ensure the safety of the researchers, students and community at large.