Argentina Traps Rats in Search for Source of Hantavirus Outbreak

In this Breitbart article, John Hayward reports that Argentine officials are trapping forest rats near Ushuaia as they investigate the possible source of the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.

• Argentine health officials placed about 150 box traps in forests around Ushuaia to determine whether hantavirus-infected rodents are present near the city.
• The investigation follows a deadly outbreak connected to the MV Hondius, where Dutch birdwatchers Leo and Mirjam Schilperoord became central to the suspected origin timeline.
• Leo Schilperoord fell ill after the ship left port and later died, though the World Health Organization still lists him as a probable case rather than a confirmed one.
• Mirjam Schilperoord was confirmed as a hantavirus fatality after PCR testing in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• One leading theory is that the couple may have contracted the virus while birdwatching near a landfill outside Ushuaia, but local officials dispute that conclusion.
• Tierra del Fuego authorities say there has never been a confirmed hantavirus infection in the province and are eager to rule out local transmission.
• The Andes strain involved in the outbreak is especially concerning because it is the only known hantavirus strain capable of person-to-person transmission.
• The Malbran Institute plans to send collected rodent samples to Buenos Aires for testing, a process expected to take about a month.
• Officials have also raised the possibility that the couple contracted the virus elsewhere during earlier travels through Argentina, Chile, or Uruguay.

Read the full story: https://www.breitbart.com/health/2026/05/20/argentina-traps-rats-search-source-hantavirus-outbreak/