A landfill in Ushuaia, Argentina, is suspected to be the source of the hantavirus outbreak. Local authorities reject the theory, saying the province never recorded a case of the hantavirus.
A landfill on the outskirts of Ushuaia, in the far south of Argentina, has become the center of the investigation into the hantavirus outbreak on board the MV Hondius cruise ship.
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National health officials believe it was there that the Dutch couple, who are thought to be at the start of the infection chain, were exposed to the virus during a bird-watching trip.
The Ushuaia region has rejected the claims, with local officials saying they first learned of the suspicion regarding the cause of infection through media reports.
“I believe we are facing a smear campaign against this destination,” Juan Facundo Petrina, the province’s director of epidemiology, told reporters on Friday at a press conference in Ushuaia.
Facundo Petrina also added that the region, located at the southernmost point of South America, has never recorded a case of hantavirus, unlike Argentine provinces further north. He said he was concerned that the headlines could have a negative impact on tourism in the region.
A long journey with a tragic ending
The area attracts travellers precisely because of the abundance of birds that fly over it, but the same conditions that make it popular with amateur ornithologists make it a favourable environment for rodents, potentially carrying hantavirus.
Transmission occurs through contact with the droppings, saliva or urine of two a specific type of rodent, the long-tailed pygmy rice rat.
What makes this case particularly complicated is the variant identified: the Andes strain is the only strain of the virus known to be able to spread from person to person. This would explain why, once on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, the infection spread beyond the initial pair.
The two tourists arrived in Argentina on 27 November 2025 and spent months touring the country by car. They visited Chile and Uruguay before returning to Argentina at the end of March. On 1 April they embarked in Ushuaia.
Shortly afterwards the 70 year old man showed the symptoms. He died on 11 April. His wife, 69, died in South Africa while trying to return to Europe.
Hantavirus cases in Argentina
The background figures are not reassuring. In Argentina, the hantavirus mortality rate has risen from 17% between 2019 and 2024 to over 33% in the last year, a jump that has set off alarm bells both nationally and in international organisations.
Authorities also point out that Tierra del Fuego had not recorded any cases for decades: the last case in the province dates back to 1996.
To confirm the hypothesis of the landfill, technical teams will travel to the area to capture rodents and search for traces of the virus.
Argentina has also activated international cooperation channels and will send genetic material of the strain to laboratories in Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the UK, with the aim of improving detection and diagnosis protocols.
Argentina, outside the WHO
The outbreak has brought to the forefront a fundamental detail: Argentina is no longer a member of the World Health Organisation. Its exit, like that of the United States, took effect in mid-March.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took advantage of the press conference on hantavirus to ask both countries to reconsider their decision, although the Argentine government responded that it does not need to belong to the organisation to cooperate with other countries on health issues. For the time being, it maintains technical links with the Pan American Health Organisation at the regional level.
The rat behind the virus
The Oligoryzomys longicaudatus, known as the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, is the main transmitter of the Andes strain. It is a small, light brown, wild rodent that lives in Chile and southern Argentina. It weighs less than 30 grams, has small ears and large eyes, and its tail can be twice the length of the rest of its body.
It is a native species and is protected. It fulfils ecological functions: it disperses seeds and forms part of the food chain of other animals. Nocturnal, it moves by leaping thanks to its long hind legs, and prefers bushy or shrubby terrain, near water sources.
Long-tailed pygmy rice rat are the natural reservoir of the Andes strain and infect each other mainly during fights or mating. Infected animals do not develop the disease, although some studies suggest that the virus shortens their life expectancy, estimated at one year.
It is not known how many animals exist, as their populations fluctuate greatly depending on climate, food availability and factors such as deforestation or agricultural expansion.
