90-Second Read: Hantavirus treatments are coming but not fast enough for this outbreak, experts say

In the meantime, public health officials and clinicians are working to contain an outbreak that began on a cruise ship last month that has so far sickened at least nine people, resulting in three deaths. But the Andes virus, the type of Hantavirus at the center of the current outbreak, is capable of spreading from person to person. Still, there are potential therapies on the horizon that experts say deserve more attention as the outbreak unfolds. Hantavirus is typically spread to humans who are exposed to infected rodents or their feces or urine.

But Hantavirus isn't COVID, and even under a similarly accelerated timeline, any therapies would come too late to treat anyone who was infected on the cruise ship. World Health Organization director general Tedros Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on Tuesday that all the passengers have left the ship and will be monitored; the boat itself is sailing to the Netherlands. Ghebreyesus also noted that 34 passengers who left the boat before the outbreak was confirmed have been identified and located. More recently, his team has focused on searching for ways to prevent or treat the illness in people.

There is no specific treatment for Hantavirus; rather clinicians try to support patients and treat symptoms as they arise. Using white blood cells from humans infected with Hantavirus, the researchers identified antibodies-proteins in the immune system that can identify and neutralize pathogens-that may be able to combat different strains of the virus. Once the antibodies attach to that protein, they can disrupt Hantavirus's ability to bind to host cells. Botten says that he hopes the global attention on Hantavirus will register with policymakers and research funding groups.

In the U.S., fewer than 1,000 cases have been confirmed between 1993 and 2023. He notes, however, that it can take a decade or more for treatments to go through all the steps to be approved for use in humans. While mortality rates from infection can be as high as 50 percent, depending on the virus type, as few as 10,000 infections occur globally each year, and most of these are in Asia and Europe, where the typical types are less fatal.