By Zoila Palma: Health officials in Argentina are investigating whether the country is linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, as the nation experiences a sharp increase in infections of the rodent-borne disease.
Officials said the cruise departed from Ushuaia in southern Argentina before several passengers later tested positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus.
Argentina’s Health Ministry reported 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025, nearly double the number recorded during the same period a year earlier. Experts say rising temperatures and changing ecosystems linked to climate change are helping rodents carrying the virus expand into new areas.
Infectious disease specialist Hugo Pizzi said warmer conditions and changing vegetation patterns have contributed to the spread of hantavirus across the country, AP reports.
According to the World Health Organization, three passengers aboard the cruise died after contracting the Andes virus, including a 70-year-old Dutch man on April 11, his 69-year-old wife on April 26, and a German woman on May 2.
The Andes strain is the only known hantavirus capable of spreading between humans, although experts say the overall public risk remains low.
Investigators are now tracing the movements of infected passengers in Argentina before they boarded the Dutch-flagged vessel in Ushuaia.
The post International News: Health officials in Argentina investigate possible link to Hantavirus outbreak on Cruise Ship appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: Health officials in Argentina are investigating whether the country is linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, as the nation experiences a sharp increase in infections of the rodent-borne disease. Officials said the cruise departed from Ushuaia in southern Argentina before several passengers later tested positive for
The post International News: Health officials in Argentina investigate possible link to Hantavirus outbreak on Cruise Ship appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
