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No Vaccine for Deadly Andes Virus Yet
11 May
Summary
- Andes virus, a rare hantavirus, spreads between people causing severe respiratory illness.
- There is currently no approved vaccine in the U.S. for the Andes virus.
- The Andes virus has a high mortality rate of approximately 38%.
A recent cruise ship outbreak has heightened awareness of the Andes virus, a rare hantavirus that can spread between people, leading to severe respiratory illness. Current research indicates that this specific hantavirus carries a significant mortality rate of approximately 38%.
Despite extensive study over several decades, there is currently no approved vaccine available in the United States that specifically targets the Andes virus. While some research into DNA hantavirus vaccines shows early promise, they are still a considerable distance from FDA approval.
Hantavirus infections, including the Andes strain, can occur through contact with rodents' droppings, urine, or saliva. The Andes virus is unique among hantaviruses for its human-to-human transmissibility. Symptoms can manifest between 4 to 42 days post-exposure.
Vaccine development has historically focused more on 'Old World' hantaviruses causing hemorrhagic fever in Asia, rather than 'New World' viruses like the Andes virus found in the Americas. Researchers are actively working on vaccine candidates, with early trials in 2023 showing a strong immune response in healthy adults without major safety concerns.
However, challenges such as the relative rarity and geographic spread of hantavirus cases make large-scale efficacy trials difficult. Health experts emphasize that the overall risk of hantavirus infection remains very low for the general population, and the current situation is unlikely to evolve into a global pandemic.
