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Cruise Ship Outbreak: Scientists Seek Virus Origin in Ushuaia
20 May
Summary
- Argentine scientists are trapping rodents in Ushuaia to find hantavirus origin.
- The outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship has caused three deaths.
- Hantavirus has not previously been recorded in Ushuaia or Tierra del Fuego.
In a crucial fieldwork operation, Argentine investigators are trapping rodents in the forests near Ushuaia, the southernmost city, to identify the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak. This investigation targets the MV Hondius cruise ship contagion, which has led to three fatalities and multiple infections, including one Canadian. The scientific team is collecting blood samples from trapped rats for testing at a makeshift lab before further analysis in Buenos Aires.
The presence of hantavirus has never been officially recorded in Ushuaia or the broader Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Provincial officials in northern Patagonia, where the virus is endemic, are contesting the initial hypothesis that the outbreak began with a Dutch couple who visited Ushuaia. They argue the couple did not visit during the likely infection window.
The investigation includes trapping rats in areas where a subspecies of the "colilargo" rat, known to transmit hantavirus, is found. This marks the first time Tierra del Fuego has conducted such testing. Scientists are linking the increasing hantavirus cases in Argentina to climate change, which is expanding the range of colilargos.
