UK Receives Antiviral Drug Amid Hantavirus Outbreak

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) – The UK has received shipments of favipiravir, an antiviral medication from Japan, in response to a hantavirus outbreak associated with the Hondius cruise liner, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported on Monday.

The UKHSA confirmed that the delivery of this experimental treatment occurred over the weekend. While it will enhance the country’s treatment supplies, the agency noted that the risk of wider transmission remains quite low.

Details regarding the number of doses sent to Britain have not been disclosed by either the UKHSA or Japanese officials.

The luxury cruise ship, central to the outbreak, recently docked in Rotterdam, where crew members and medical personnel were disembarked. There have been three fatalities among the eight confirmed cases along with two probable cases linked to the vessel.

Hantavirus primarily spreads via rodents but can occasionally be transmitted between people, usually requiring prolonged close contact. There is currently no specific therapy for it, and treatment generally focuses on supportive measures like rest and hydration; some patients may also require respiratory support.

Favipiravir, known commercially as Avigan in Japan, is manufactured by a Fujifilm subsidiary as an emergency medication for new or re-emerging flu strains. It functions by inhibiting a crucial enzyme that many viruses need to replicate, although it isn’t licensed for use in the UK.

The application of favipiravir for hantavirus is considered more experimental or compassionate than standard practice, typically aimed at treating severe infections early, according to Piet Maes, a virologist from the University of Brussels.

So far, the available evidence mainly arises from lab and animal studies, lacking strong human trial data to support effectiveness against hantavirus. Additionally, there isn’t an internationally recognized clinical protocol recommending its routine use for this virus.

This outbreak involves the Andes virus subtype of hantavirus, the only strain known to spread between humans, but usually only after extended close interactions.

Officials from the World Health Organization indicated they have not noticed any alterations that would enhance the virus’s transmissibility or severity, asserting that this outbreak does not pose a pandemic threat.