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Glossary · Protection

Vaccine

A preparation that trains the immune system to recognise a pathogen. Against Andes hantavirus, no vaccine is licensed to date.

Also called : vaccination, DNA vaccine, inactivated vaccine, Hantavax, hantavirus vaccine Protection

A vaccine is a biological preparation that trains the immune system to recognise a pathogen so it can defend against it on real exposure. Against hantavirus, the picture is mixed: vaccines exist in Asia against certain strains, but none is licensed against the Andes virus, the cause of the MV Hondius cluster.

Existing hantavirus vaccines

In Asia, against other strains

In South Korea, the inactivated Hantavax vaccine has been used for decades. In China, inactivated vaccines (rodent-brain-derived, then cell-culture-derived) are administered on a large scale — about two million doses a year. But these vaccines target the Hantaan and Seoul viruses, responsible for haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), and do not protect against the Andes virus.

No vaccine for pulmonary syndrome

For hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), the American form of the disease, there is no licensed vaccine to date.

The Andes virus DNA candidate

The most advanced candidate is a DNA vaccine developed by USAMRIID (the US Army's medical research institute of infectious diseases). Its principle: have the body produce the virus's envelope glycoproteins Gn and Gc, to train the immune response.

The phase 1 trial, published in 2024, involved 48 healthy adults, with needle-free administration (PharmaJet Stratis system). Result: 88 to 90% of participants in the best-dosed cohorts developed neutralising antibodies, with no safety signal. But a phase 1 only measures safety and immune response — not actual efficacy in preventing disease.

The phase 3 bottleneck

To license a vaccine, you need a phase 3 demonstrating its efficacy across a large population. But HPS is too rare and sporadic: such a trial would require enrolling tens of thousands of people in at-risk areas and following them for years. That is the main obstacle, both logistical and economic — and the reason why, despite promising candidates, no vaccine is expected in the short term.

For more, see our article where does Andes hantavirus vaccine research stand?.

Key figures

Standards & references

Frequently asked questions

Is there a vaccine against Andes hantavirus?

No. To date no vaccine is licensed against the Andes virus or against hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, in the United States, Europe or Latin America. The hantavirus vaccines actually in use are in Asia (Hantavax in South Korea, inactivated vaccines in China) and target other strains causing haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

What is a DNA vaccine?

A DNA vaccine introduces into the body a fragment of DNA encoding a viral protein (here the Gn and Gc envelope glycoproteins of the Andes virus). Cells then produce that protein, training the immune system to recognise it and make antibodies. The candidate developed by USAMRIID was given needle-free (pressure injection) and cleared a phase 1 trial.

Why is there no Andes virus vaccine yet?

The barrier is not scientific but logistical and economic. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is rare and sporadic: to prove a vaccine's efficacy in a phase 3 trial you would need to follow tens of thousands of people in at-risk areas for years. The small number of cases also reduces commercial incentive for manufacturers.

Further reading