Ott Lab News

The international health community is on high alert, tracing a silent, high-stakes trail left by the MV Hondius cruise ship.

What began as a birdwatching excursion in Argentina has transformed into a multi-national health crisis. With three confirmed deaths, several passengers in intensive care units across Europe and South Africa, a person in Switzerland testing positive, and more than 30 passengers—including several in the US—under surveillance, the primary concern is no longer just the virus itself. The concern is how it’s spreading.

While most hantaviruses are contracted through inhalation of rodent droppings, health authorities have confirmed this outbreak involves the Andes strain, the only variation known to spread from person to person.

Over the past 45 years, the scientific and medical community achieved a miracle. We turned HIV/AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable, chronic condition—chiefly through the development of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

It’s one of the greatest victories in healthcare history, but it’s no longer enough. Today, we need a cure.

From influenza and COVID-19 to HIV, viruses continue to pose a serious danger to global health.

But just as pressing are threats from other disease-causing microorganisms such as bacteria—especially the deadly strains that are becoming resistant to antibiotic medicines. And increasingly, scientists are discovering how viruses and bacteria are closely interconnected, influencing health and disease in ways that we’re only beginning to understand.

To reflect this reality, the Gladstone Institute of Virology has taken on a new name: the Gladstone Infectious Disease Institute. The new name aptly encompasses the expanded nature of the institute’s mission to understand and address a range of infectious threats.