Andes Virus Vaccine Triggers Strong Immune Response in 48-Adult Trial as No Shot Is Approved
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · May 11
Andes Virus Vaccine Triggers Strong Immune Response in 48-Adult Trial as No Shot Is Approved
4 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · May 11
A 2023 early trial in 48 healthy adults found an Andes virus vaccine generated a strong immune response without major safety concerns, offering rare progress against a virus with no approved vaccine.
The push is urgent because Andes virus can spread person to person and carries a mortality rate of about 38%, unlike most hantaviruses that mainly pass from rodents to humans.
Researchers say broader testing remains difficult because hantavirus cases are rare and geographically sporadic, slowing the path toward FDA approval for U.S. DNA vaccine candidates.
Current vaccine work has focused more on Asian hantavirus strains such as Hantaan and Seoul, while no vaccine anywhere is specifically approved for the Andes virus in the Americas.
Health experts say the cruise ship outbreak is unlikely to become a global pandemic, and the CDC still considers overall hantavirus risk very low for most people.
With a 38% death rate, why is there still no approved vaccine for the deadly Andes virus?
How did a luxury cruise ship become the perfect incubator for a rare, rodent-borne killer virus?