Dr. Botten’s research focuses on host-pathogen interactions among pathogenic RNA viruses, such as arenaviruses, flaviviruses, and hantaviruses.
There is no specific treatment for hantavirus; rather, clinicians try to support patients and treat symptoms as they arise. The development of treatments for hantavirus is being delayed by funding issues, experts say, as well as by the fact that incidences of hantavirus are so rare.
“Even if you got the funding to do [a clinical trial for hantavirus], another holdup could potentially be ‘Where’s the population to test the efficacy of this product?’” Botten says. “That’s pretty hard. In the United States, you may only see five cases of infection in a year.”
Referring to the recent outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship that has so far sickened at least nine people and killed three of them, Botten says he hopes the global attention on hantavirus will register with policymakers and research funding groups.
“My hope is, out of this tragedy, maybe one of the good things that would come out is some new opportunities will be put in place to try and take some of these therapeutic candidates that our group and others have and move them forward in ways that we couldn’t have previously.”