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Tracking hantavirus across the globe

The recent hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has brought increased attention to an infection for which there are no widely available or FDA-approved therapeutics or vaccines, with limited research occurring only at the earliest stages. The rare Andes strain identified in the outbreak is known for human-to-human transmission, although the original infection comes from rodents. While hantavirus does not spread as easily as an infection like COVID-19, the mortality rate, at 30% to 40%, is significantly greater, and serves as another example as to why biopharmas must be at least two steps ahead with technology that can pivot to quickly address the spread of infectious diseases. Read BioWorld’s ongoing coverage of the current hantavirus outbreak.

Recent articles about the MV Hondius outbreak:

First cruise ship hantavirus genome points to zoonotic spillover

APAC monitors hantavirus as Singapore isolates 2 from cruise ship

Hantavirus is ‘sentinel’ more than acute pandemic threat

Fibrobiologics explores use of fibroblast platform for hantavirus

Traws Pharma to advance hantavirus candidates

BioWorld’s earlier coverage of hantavirus:

Study compares tropism of Old and New World hantaviruses

Researchers engineer a broadly neutralizing antibody pan-hantavirus therapeutic candidate

Human neutralizing antibody against PUUV spike broadly protects rodent models against hantaviruses

NIH grant supports Ichor's development of antibodies against hantavirus infections

NIAID initiates phase I study of Andes virus DNA vaccine to prevent hantavirus pulmonary syndrome