Cruise Ship Hantavirus Deaths: Argentina Probes Whether Outbreak Started Locally

Argentine health officials are investigating whether the deadly hantavirus outbreak that killed three people aboard an Atlantic cruise ship originated in their country. The Ministry of Health announced Wednesday it would send experts to Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina, to trap and test rodents in locations linked to the travel route of a Dutch couple who died from the virus.

The couple, along with a German national, are the three confirmed fatalities. The World Health Organization reports eight suspected cases total, with three confirmed by lab tests. The ship, which had been stranded off Cape Verde, departed for Spain on Wednesday after evacuating three passengers, two in serious condition.

WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency is working with countries to provide information and support to prevent further spread. Health officials stress the public risk remains low, noting hantavirus transmits far less easily than COVID-19 or influenza. Close contact—like sharing a cabin or providing medical care—is required for human-to-human transmission.

The outbreak involves the Andes virus, a South American hantavirus that can cause severe lung disease. Argentine authorities are sending virus RNA and treatment guidelines to labs in Spain, Senegal, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Climate change may be fueling the spread. Argentina has recorded 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025—double the same period last year. Infectious disease specialist Hugo Pizzi told the Associated Press that warming conditions are turning parts of Argentina more tropical, bringing new plants whose seeds feed mice, the virus's primary carriers. “There is no doubt,” Pizzi said, “that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more.”