A major pharmaceutical company saw its shares surge after announcing it had been researching hantavirus vaccines.
Amid concerns about the recent hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, Moderna revealed it had been conducting preliminary hantavirus vaccine research, Bloomberg reported last week. The company’s work reportedly started before this month’s outbreak.
Moderna was up almost 6 percent when markets opened Monday after the announcement, CNBC reports.
A company spokesperson said Moderna’s research efforts are “early-stage and ongoing and reflect Moderna’s broader responsibility to develop countermeasures against emerging infectious diseases.”
"Moderna has conducted preclinical research on hantaviruses in collaboration with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), reflecting the ongoing regional impact of these pathogens,” the spokesperson told The Independent.
“In parallel, through our mRNA Access Program—which supports external research on viruses of concern in advance of potential outbreaks—we have partnered with the Vaccine Innovation Center at Korea University College of Medicine,’ the spokesperson added.
The World Health Organization received reports of a respiratory illness outbreak — later revealed to be the Andes variant of hantavirus — aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship on May 2. The outbreak has sparked public concern, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the “overall risk to the American public and travelers remains extremely low.”
There have been at least seven confirmed cases linked to the outbreak on the ship, and at least three people have died, health officials said Monday.
Hantavirus symptoms can take four to 42 days to appear, with early symptoms including fatigue, fever and muscle aches, according to the CDC. Headaches, dizziness, chills and stomach problems are also common symptoms.
About 38 percent of patients who get respiratory symptoms could die from the disease, according to the CDC.
Over the weekend, the MV Hondius docked off the Spanish island of Tenerife. Nearly all passengers and crew have returned home, and the ship is expected to depart for the Netherlands on Monday evening, according to the New York Times.
The cruise ship was carrying 18 Americans, one of whom “tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus,” the Department of Health and Human Services said. A second American also started to show mild symptoms.
“As of now, the airlift will transport passengers to the ASPR Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska before taking the passenger with mild symptoms to a second RESPTC at its final destination,” the agency said Sunday evening.
“Upon arrival at each facility, each individual will undergo clinical assessment and receive appropriate care and support based on their condition,” the agency’s statement continued.