Russian scientists have a proven technology for developing a vaccine against hantavirus and related pathogens, said Alexander Gintsburg, scientific director of the Gamaleya Centre. The drug could be developed in about one and a half years provided the necessary funding is allocated, he told Izvestia newspaper.
Various haemorrhagic fevers, including hantavirus infections, occur regularly in different parts of the world, including Russia, Gintsburg said. Depending on the virus type, the disease can manifest either as severe kidney syndrome or as a pulmonary form, he explained.
The vaccine should target not just one antigenic variant but five to seven of the most common ones at once, the scientist noted. He proposed using virus‑like particle technology as the platform, which was successfully used for the rotavirus vaccine.
Immunologist Mikhail Bolkov confirmed that such a vaccine is indeed needed, telling Izvestia that due to increasing migration, pathogens will appear more often, and a vaccine should be “on hand” in case of imported outbreaks. Rospotrebnadzor previously said it was keeping the situation under control. Russia has test systems for detecting hantavirus, but no vaccine against the pathogen, the service said.
Discussions of hantavirus were triggered by reports of an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean, in which three people died. The virus was later detected in a tourist who returned from the cruise and was hospitalised in Zurich.
The World Health Organisation has already launched an investigation. On May 7, countries around the world took emergency measures to prevent further spread of the virus, tracking those who had already gone ashore before the infection was detected and anyone who had been in close contact with them afterwards.
Experts stressed that infections are extremely rare, but the outbreak has placed health authorities on high alert. Meanwhile, Argentine authorities announced they had recorded the largest hantavirus outbreak in a decade, with 42 new infections registered since the start of 2026.