EU receives experimental Hantavirus treatment doses

The EU received an emergency shipment Thursday of an experimental antiviral drug for the potential use against Hantavirus infections, under a cooperation arrangement with Japan, according to a statement released by the European Commission.

A total of 1,400 tablets of the antiviral Favipiravir are being delivered to France, Spain, and the Netherlands, where they may be used for patients or in clinical trials under national protocols.

The drug has not yet been approved for Hantavirus treatment or prevention, but the European Medicines Agency has identified it as a candidate for compassionate use or clinical investigation.

The supply was made available through a donation from Fujifilm Pharmaceuticals in Japan, facilitated by Japanese authorities and the EU Delegation in Tokyo, as part of EU-Japan cooperation on health emergency preparedness.

The EU Commission said it has been in contact with member states since an outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to accelerate access to potential medical countermeasures and coordinate the deployment of the antiviral upon requests from the three countries.

"Thanks to close cooperation between the EU, Member States and our Japanese partners, we were able to rapidly secure access to potentially life-saving Hantavirus treatments for European patients," said EU Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib.

The bloc also said it is launching emergency procurement procedures to secure additional doses if needed, as part of efforts to strengthen preparedness in case of additional cases in the coming weeks.

Hantavirus is a rare disease usually transmitted through infected rodents or their droppings. The strain responsible for the current outbreak, however, the Andes virus, can also spread between humans through prolonged close contact, often in enclosed settings.