Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus
a day ago
- #hantavirus-outbreak
- #research-funding-cuts
- #public-health-monitoring
- The Trump administration cut funding in 2025 for a pilot project studying the hantavirus, which is linked to an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, causing three deaths and multiple illnesses.
- The project, run by the West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (WAC-EID), aimed to understand hantavirus transmission from rodents to humans; it was part of the CREID network, all centers of which were closed in 2024 by the NIH over safety concerns.
- The outbreak involves the Andes hantavirus, which can transmit human-to-human, a rare occurrence; experts know little about this transmission mechanism, and the canceled project sought to learn more.
- WAC-EID had received U.S. government grants totaling over $8.3 million, with about $2.4 million undisbursed when funding was cut; virologists criticized the move, citing no evidence of unsafe research.
- Passengers from the MV Hondius disembarked before the outbreak was detected, leading to monitoring in five U.S. states; health officials report no confirmed infections among those monitored, and the WHO states the public health risk is low.