Health Officials Identify Possible Source of Hantavirus Cases Linked to Cruise Ship Voyage

Health officials continue investigating the hantavirus outbreak connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius, and new findings may help explain how the illness first spread onboard. Authorities in Argentina believe the source of the outbreak may be linked to a birdwatching excursion near a landfill site in Ushuaia, a city located in the southernmost region of the country. Investigators suspect that a Dutch couple participating in the excursion may have unknowingly been exposed to infected rodents in the area before returning to the ship. The couple later developed symptoms during the voyage, leading health experts to focus their investigation on the stop in Ushuaia as a possible starting point of the outbreak.