No Vaccine for Deadly Hantavirus: Implications of Cruise Ship Outbreak
An outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius has resulted in multiple deaths, highlighting the critical lack of vaccines and specific treatments for this deadly rodent-borne virus. The World Health Organization confirmed that passengers were infected with the Andes virus, which can spread between humans in close contact and has a fatality rate of up to 50%. Virologist Jay Hooper from the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases discusses the decades-long effort to develop a vaccine. Although phase 1 clinical trials for an Andes virus DNA vaccine have shown promise by inducing neutralizing antibodies, challenges remain. These include the need for multiple doses, the difficulty of conducting phase 3 efficacy trials due to the rarity and scattered nature of cases, and insufficient funding for advanced development. Hooper notes that climate change may increase infection risks by altering rodent populations. The incident underscores the unpredictability of zoonotic viruses and the urgent need for creative regulatory approaches to license vaccines based on immune correlates rather than traditional large-scale trials.
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No Vaccine for Deadly Hantavirus: Implications of Cruise Ship Outbreak
An outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius has resulted in multiple deaths, highlighting the critical lack of vaccines and specific treatments for this deadly rodent-borne virus. The World Health Organization confirmed that passengers were infected with the Andes virus, which can spread between humans in close contact and has a fatality rate of up to 50%. Virologist Jay Hooper from the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases discusses the decades-long effort to develop a vaccine. Although phase 1 clinical trials for an Andes virus DNA vaccine have shown promise by inducing neutralizing antibodies, challenges remain. These include the need for multiple doses, the difficulty of conducting phase 3 efficacy trials due to the rarity and scattered nature of cases, and insufficient funding for advanced development. Hooper notes that climate change may increase infection risks by altering rodent populations. The incident underscores the unpredictability of zoonotic viruses and the urgent need for creative regulatory approaches to license vaccines based on immune correlates rather than traditional large-scale trials.
Nature