Hanta Virus Vaccine
The National Farmers Union respectfully requests that Health Canada devote resources to the development and production of a hantavirus vaccine.
This is of great concern to people in rural areas, as they see the greatest incidence of hantavirus infections and the mortality rate of 30% is disturbingly high. This is also of great concern to farmers due to the high incidence of hantavirus infection on farms.
The highly skilled human resources on today’s modern family farm are already thinly spread, so everyone in that structure is imperative to the success of a complex operation. The sudden death of a farm member from hantavirus can leave the family and business with a devastating emotional and functional loss.
While China, South Korea, and the United States have all made progress toward the development of a hantavirus vaccine, it is only reasonable that Health Canada take similar steps to curb the incidence of this deadly disease.
We look forward to a positive response to our concern.
Yours truly
Stewart Wells,
Vice-President (Policy)
National Farmers Union