90-Second Read: Twenty-one countries launch coordinated Andes virus research initiative following Hantavirus outbreak

The study will use ISARIC ( International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium ), an adaptable research framework designed to enable rapid, standardized data and sample collection during emerging infectious disease outbreaks. Scientific evidence generation during outbreaks must become operational, coordinated, and immediately deployable. Countries and regions where outbreaks emerge or pathogens circulate must be central participants in evidence generation through strengthened clinical trial networks, national ethics committees, laboratory systems, surveillance platforms, and outbreak research infrastructure.

Coordination of the NAVIS platform is being supported by ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS-MIE) under BE READY, a EU-funded global initiative to strengthen research preparedness and rapid scientific mobilization for future epidemics and pandemics. Outbreaks such as that of the ANDV present rare opportunities for scientific investigation, with a limited window of time for generating robust evidence. The initiative also highlights the importance of geographically-distributed research preparedness.

The ANDV outbreak demonstrated the importance of research preparedness. Future outbreak responses should no longer begin by building research systems during crises. The initiative, known as NAVIS, is a natural history study designed to improve understanding of ANDV transmission dynamics, incubation periods, immune responses, viral kinetics, and determinants of severe disease through harmonized longitudinal follow-up of exposed individuals.