Malbrán Institute Probes 11-Case Cruise Hantavirus Outbreak in Ushuaia

10 articles · Updated · Scientific American · May 15

Argentina’s Malbrán Institute is sending teams to Ushuaia to trap and analyze rodents in places linked to the Dutch couple treated as the outbreak’s index cases.
11 cases have been reported from the MV Hondius outbreak, nine confirmed and three fatal; investigators identified the virus as Andes virus, the only hantavirus known to spread between people.
Officials have examined whether the couple caught the virus while bird-watching near an Ushuaia landfill before the April 1 cruise, but publicly available evidence does not strongly support that theory.
Tierra del Fuego authorities say the province has never recorded a hantavirus case, while outside experts argue the couple’s months-long travel through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay offers multiple possible exposure sites.
Researchers say rodent sampling and viral sequencing may narrow the source to a general area, but the exact spillover site may remain uncertain.

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