Despite being known for decades, hantavirus has few available treatments due to its rarity and limited person-to-person transmission. A recent outbreak on a cruise ship has renewed interest in developing drugs and vaccines, with a study suggesting that an autoimmune disease drug may help combat the virus's deadly symptoms. Researchers worldwide are now hopeful that increased attention and concern about climate change will accelerate research efforts.
Hantavirus, a family of viruses known for decades, has recently gained attention due to an outbreak on a cruise ship. Despite being a familiar pathogen, treatments and vaccines for hantavirus are scarce.
This is largely due to the viruses' rarity and limited person-to-person transmission, which has resulted in insufficient investment for extensive safety and efficacy testing. However, recent developments have sparked hope in the scientific community. A study published on Wednesday suggests that a drug used for an autoimmune disease may help hantavirus patients combat the virus's most deadly symptoms.
Researchers worldwide, including those in Chile, Argentina, and the United States, are now hopeful that the attention brought by the cruise ship outbreak and concerns about increased contact between people and rodents due to climate change will accelerate research and development efforts. Hantaviruses typically spread through inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings, with unique species causing different symptoms. The Andes virus, responsible for the cruise ship outbreak, is of particular interest as it can potentially spread between people.
While rare, hantavirus infections can be extremely deadly, with a high mortality rate. In the cruise ship outbreak, three out of 13 likely cases resulted in death. Similarly, in Chile, the Ministry of Health has confirmed 15 deaths and 42 cases so far this year. In Argentina, researchers are exploring the use of a rheumatoid arthritis treatment, tocilizumab, to fight hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
A study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases reported that four out of five patients survived after receiving tocilizumab in addition to standard care, while five patients who did not receive the drug died. Despite the promising results, further investigation is needed to fully understand the drug's potential. María Inés Barría, a virologist at the Universidad San Sebastián in Chile, is part of an international team working on another approach using cloned antibodies from hantavirus survivors to prevent infections
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