The EU has provided an experimental drug against hantavirus to three countries

The first batches of an experimental antiviral drug for the treatment of hantavirus infection are being urgently shipped to France, Spain, and the Netherlands. 

This was officially announced by the European Commission on Thursday, May 28.

Since there is currently no specific approved treatment for hantavirus worldwide, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has identified the drug favipiravir as the most promising candidate for use in future clinical trials. It is reported that the Japanese pharmaceutical company Fujifilm Pharmaceuticals donated 1,400 tablets of this drug free of charge, forming a humanitarian shipment at the request of the three aforementioned European countries.

At the same time, the European Union is immediately initiating emergency procurement procedures for the medication. This will allow for the rapid provision of additional doses of the antiviral drug in the event that new cases of hantavirus infection are laboratory-confirmed in EU member states over the coming weeks.

The WHO Director-General noted that hantavirus is not the new COVID

Hantavirus outbreak: experts assess the risks of a global pandemic.

We also reported: Among the crew members of the MV Hondius, where a hantavirus outbreak was recorded, are five Ukrainian citizens. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that no signs of a deterioration in their health have been detected so far.

The disease on board the MV Hondius, owned by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, which has claimed the lives of three passengers, may have been introduced by Argentine rats or mice.