Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan The vaccine and the Infectious Diseases Organization (VIDO) say they are in the early stages of preclinical testing of a hantavirus vaccine, with several years needed for distribution.
“Right now we’re in early pre-clinical trials, so we’re moving to animal experiments just to see the immune response and see if that can protect against infection and disease,” said Bryce Warner, principal scientist at VIDO.
A hantavirus outbreak on a luxury cruise ship earlier this month put the virus in the spotlight recently, after three people died after contracting the virus.
But researchers at VIDO have already studied the virus and developed vaccines against New World hantaviruses, which include the two strains most commonly found in America.
One of these two strains is the Andean virus, which is spreading among passengers on the MV Hondius and is commonly found in South America.
“It’s also one of the few viruses that we have good models to study in the lab. So it’s one that we have to work with to test our vaccines,” Warner said.
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The other is Sin Nombre virus, the strain commonly associated with cases of transmission from deer mice to humans in Canada and the US.
Currently, there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, although many efforts around the world are being developed to develop one.
VIDO is primarily developing a protein subunit vaccine, but is exploring different methods of delivering it to patients, from arm injections to a liquid sprayed into the nose, which would address where the virus most commonly infects, Warner said.
“We’re looking at how we can administer the vaccine through an intranasal or mucosal delivery to really induce a good immune response within the lungs, because that’s where the virus is going to come from,” he said.
“So if you have some kind of strong immune response right at the point of entry of the virus, maybe you can prevent the disease that way.”
While efforts continue in Saskatoon, it will take some time to fully develop the vaccine, Warner said.
“Going into people’s arms, we’re looking at maybe 10 more years,” he said, adding that there are many factors beyond research that go into getting a vaccine ready for use, including approvals and funding.
As for next steps, Warner said researchers will get the vaccines in animals this summer and continue to conduct field surveillance including capturing deer mice outdoors and testing them to see the prevalence of the virus in Saskatchewan.
“We don’t know much about the differences in viruses across Canada, so we’re trying to get some insight into that,” he said.
On Monday, the Spanish government confirmed a new case of hantavirus associated with MV Hondius. The patient is one of 14 Spanish nationals on board the ship and the second Spaniard to test positive for the virus.
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