Scientific teams develop hantavirus vaccines and treatments after MV Hondius outbreak
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 9
Scientific teams develop hantavirus vaccines and treatments after MV Hondius outbreak
8 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 9
The deadly outbreak aboard the MV Hondius in the mid-Atlantic exposed how few options doctors and public health experts had against the rare rodent-borne virus.
Researchers say several vaccine and treatment candidates show promise and could move more quickly if hantavirus becomes a higher funding and commercial priority.
Experts say hantavirus has drawn limited attention because human infections are uncommon and it does not spread easily between people, leaving the medical toolkit "almost empty".
As a rare virus spreads between humans, why are global health and disease prevention programs facing major funding cuts?
Is the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak a rare accident or a warning of how environmental changes create new pandemics?
With promising vaccines years away, how vulnerable are we to the next neglected pathogen that emerges without warning?