Scientists were almost ready with Hantavirus vaccine but it got halted; here’s why

A few isolated teams in the world dared to get their hands dirty and find a vaccine much before the notorious Hantavirus caused an outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise, resulting in 11 infections and three deaths, turning the luxurious voyage into a nightmare.

A team in Chile was close to finding a solution for Hantavirus disease which made people seriously sick in parts of America. However, when the time came close to test the results on humans, they ran out of money, a media outlet reported.

The breakthrough had come around 2016 when the team was successful in developing antibodies that could neutralise the pathogen. 

Antibodies were primarily  targeted at the 'Aedes' form of the virus known for its human-to-human transmission.

Finding a treatment in Chile was all the more important because the strain is predominantly found in South America, particularly Chile and Argentina where isolated cases are recorded every year. 

As per reports, Chile’s Health Ministry reported 39 cases, including 13 deaths in 2026. Argentina also saw nearly 42 diagnosed cases. 

Some speculate the lack of resources and the onset of Covid-19 pandemic might put a stop to the vaccine making.

The current outbreak on the ship has raised an alarm on the pending task of making vaccines for a disease which can kill one in three people when infected.

Situation so far

As per reports, all 147 passengers and crew have disembarked the Dutch-flagged vessel at Canary Island and the vessel is now heading to the Netherlands for inspection and disinfection.

As of now, people from 32 nationalities have been confirmed to have boarded the voyage with all the evacuated passengers undergoing a mandatory 42- day quarantine, matching the incubation period for the illness.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have warned countries that more cases could emerge in the coming weeks. 

However, the question remains to be answered — why is the world not already with a vaccine for a virus that has existed for years?

Is disease bias a reason?

It is not uncommon to see certain diseases not getting global attention or failing to get support in funds for the simple reason— they are rare and affect few people.

The same could be said for Hantavirus, which till now was a regionally scattered disease.

As per WHO’s disease status, it would be called an endemic for being limited to a geographical region.

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illness and even death> They are mainly spread by rodents, said the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Unlike Covid-19, they don’t spread so quickly and have enjoyed the status of being a rare disease, primarily caused by a direct interaction with the rodent.

The disease typically spreads through air, in the form of aerosols containing particles from the droppings of the rodents like rats or mice but not all species carry the same toxin.

A solo species like 'Aedes' strain can spread between people close in contact as it did on MV Hondius.

Hantaviruses have always been there and have caused outbreaks in the past. 

However, it never escalated to a pandemic-like situation. As per experts, this caused the global health markets to take it less seriously.

Only in recent years, the understanding of Hantavirus, its natural history and pathogenesis (the way it infects and causes disease) has improved.

Back in the 1950s during the Korean war, about 3,000 United Nations troops fell ill with hemorrhagic fever which had affected their kidneys. 

The outbreak repeated itself in parts of America (in 1993) but this time it was associated with serious cardiopulmonary distress. 

This led to an understanding among the scientists — different species of rodents were reservoirs for different forms of the same virus, causing two major forms of the diseases in the world.

One affecting the renal system was found mostly in Europe and Asia and the one affecting the pulmonary system was limited to the United States and was spread by deer mouse.

The halted experiment

In a collaboration, some scientists from Chile with international partners like National Institute of Health, Robert Koch Institute in Germany and New York-based Ichor Biologics, led by Dr Maria Ines Barria started to use blood samples from survivors of the virus to understand its immune response, reported the Economic Times.

They had collected samples from 27 people who were infected with the 'Andes' strain and looked for the strongest antibodies among them that could bind to the virus.

Then they created two monoclonal antibodies and tested them on hamsters.

By 2018, they were able to publish findings on the two isolated monoclonal antibodies found to neutralise the virus.

Having tested the efficacy of antibodies on animal models, the antibodies had achieved orphan drug status from the US Food and Drug Administration. 

However, human trials need heavy investments and the team failed to acquire enough to do so, hence, stopped the trial mid way through.

As per MoneyControl, the estimated cost to test the antibodies on humans was seven million dollars.

Apart from Chile scientists, Kartik Chandran, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine is also developing a vaccine for Hantavirus. 

As per a media report, Chile's lab experiment is reminiscent of how scientists had halted vaccine work on coronavirus before it showed up as a pandemic.

As per reports, the virus poses an increased risk to troops on the ground, particularly the military who get positioned in rodent-prone areas.

Speaking to Nature, Jay Hooper, a virologist at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Maryland is also trying to come up with a potent vaccine.