{"id":14444,"date":"2026-05-06T17:20:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/hantavirus-is-on-the-rise-in-argentina-where-a-stricken-cruise-ship-began-its-journey-wsls\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T17:20:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:20:29","slug":"hantavirus-is-on-the-rise-in-argentina-where-a-stricken-cruise-ship-began-its-journey-wsls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/hantavirus-is-on-the-rise-in-argentina-where-a-stricken-cruise-ship-began-its-journey-wsls\/","title":{"rendered":"Hantavirus is on the rise in Argentina, where a stricken cruise ship began its journey &#8211; WSLS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Isabel Debre<br \/>Associated Press<br \/>Published:\u00a0<time datetime=\"2026-05-06T17:15:59.000Z\">May 6, 2026 at 1:15 PM<\/time><br \/>Isabel Debre<br \/>Associated Press<br \/>Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved<br \/>Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Misper Apawu)<br \/><strong>BUENOS AIRES<\/strong> \u2013 Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to determine if their country is the source of a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cruise-ship-hantavirus-andes-strain-south-africa-cb424510bb0c934c781f6bd42ce2e7c8\">deadly hantavirus outbreak<\/a> that has <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hantavirus-ship-cape-verde-mv-hondius-footage-c6b3db5ab10fefbd9ece0b036e47188b\">gripped an Atlantic cruise<\/a>.<br \/>The health emergency aboard the ship that&#8217;s moored across the ocean comes as Argentina sees a surge of hantavirus cases that many local public health researchers attribute to the recently accelerating effects of climate change. Argentina, where the cruise to Antarctica departed, is consistently ranked by the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/world-health-organization\">World Health Organization<\/a> as having the highest incidence of the rare, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/what-to-know-hantavirus-cruise-ship-366c781ff168656ff47ae9796965daaa\">rodent-borne disease<\/a> in Latin America. <br \/>Recommended Videos<br \/>Higher temperatures <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/climate-science-health-environment-infectious-diseases-a354d82963fc2bd246e7be51d0033af9\">expand the virus\u2019 range<\/a> because, in part, as it gets warmer and ecosystems change, rodents that carry the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/what-to-know-hantavirus-cruise-ship-366c781ff168656ff47ae9796965daaa\">hantavirus<\/a> can thrive in more places, experts say. People typically contract the virus from exposure to rodent droppings, urine or saliva.<br \/>\u201cArgentina has become more tropical because of climate change, and that has brought disruptions, like dengue and yellow fever, but also new tropical plants that produce seeds for mice to proliferate,\u201d said Hugo Pizzi, a prominent Argentine infectious disease specialist. \u201cThere is no doubt that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more.\u201d <br \/>The Argentine Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025, roughly double the caseload recorded over the same period the previous year.<br \/>A hantavirus found in South America, called the Andes virus, can cause a severe and often fatal lung disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The disease led to death in nearly a third of cases in the last year, Argentina\u2019s Health Ministry said, up from an average mortality rate of 15 in the five years before that. <br \/>Authorities said passengers on the MV Hondius ship tested positive for the Andes virus.<br \/>The cause of infection remains under investigation<br \/>Argentine officials say they\u2019re trying to pin down <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/what-to-know-hantavirus-cruise-ship-366c781ff168656ff47ae9796965daaa\">where infected passengers traveled<\/a> in the country before boarding the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/what-to-know-hantavirus-cruise-ship-366c781ff168656ff47ae9796965daaa\">Dutch-flagged cruise liner<\/a> in Ushuaia, a city in southern Argentina known as the end of the world. Once they know the itineraries, they say they will trace contacts, isolate close contacts and actively monitor to prevent further spread.<br \/>The U.N. health agency, or WHO, says that the first death on board, a 70-year-old Dutch man, happened on April 11. His 69-year-old wife, also Dutch, died on April 26. The third passenger, a German woman, died on May 2.<br \/>The virus can incubate for between one and eight weeks. That makes it hard to know whether the passengers contracted the virus before leaving Argentina <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/antarctica-tourism-hantavirus-biosecurity-a618a3e522603bf34706a0a1f3ea20fc\">for Antarctica<\/a> on April 1; during a scheduled stop to a remote South Atlantic island; or aboard the ship. <br \/>The province of Tierra del Fuego, where the vessel docked for weeks before departing, has never seen a case of hantavirus. Before boarding, the Dutch couple went sightseeing in Ushuaia, and traveled elsewhere in Argentina and Chile, WHO said.<br \/>The Argentine government\u2019s leading hypothesis is that the couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing in Ushuaia, according to two investigators who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media as they sifted through still-fragmentary evidence. Authorities are also tracing the Dutch tourists&#8217; footsteps through the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/argentina-patagonia-milei-trump-austerity-wildfires-drought-f07520babbbb3ea18f9da96d47a7c3b4\">forested hillsides of Patagonia<\/a> in southern Argentina where some infections are clustered.<br \/>Because early symptoms resemble the fever and chills of a flu, \u201ctourists might think they just have a cold and not take it seriously. That makes it particularly dangerous,\u201d Raul Gonz\u00e1lez Ittig, genetics professor at the National University of C\u00f3rdoba and a researcher at state science body CONICET, said.<br \/>On Tuesday, the mountain resort town of Bariloche, Patagonia\u2019s most common northern entry point, recorded its first human hantavirus case of 2026, the government of R\u00edo Negro Province said. He was hospitalized on Wednesday.<br \/>Climate change sends rodents to new frontiers<br \/>Argentina in recent years endured a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/argentina-drought-farms-6a4581685e448bef697e30370a42afd8\">historic drought<\/a>. But it also had bouts of <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/argentina-flooding-weather-evacuate-860671d9ac029f03fe2e09357df05ba2\">unexpectedly intense rainfall<\/a>, part of a broader pattern of <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/argentina-patagonia-milei-trump-austerity-wildfires-drought-f07520babbbb3ea18f9da96d47a7c3b4\">wild weather<\/a> that scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wildfire-climate-change-argentina-chile-milei-trump-08c71e0688401d01b98e0ff347d28a1a\">attribute to climate change<\/a>. <br \/>Some of this variability has created conditions that have allowed hantavirus to flourish, experts say. Dry spells drive animals out of their usual habitats in search of food and water. Huge amounts of rain lead to vegetation growth, scattering seeds that attract leaf-munching rodents. <br \/>\u201cWhen precipitation increases, food availability increases, rodent populations grow, and if there are infected rodents, the chance of transmission between rodents \u2014 and eventually to humans \u2014 also increases,\u201d Ittig said. <br \/>Although hantavirus cases once were limited to the southern reaches of Patagonia, now 83% of cases are found in Argentina\u2019s far north, according to the Health Ministry. In January, the ministry issued an alert on several fatal hantavirus outbreaks, including in the most populous province of Buenos Aires.<br \/>\u201cWith the climate changing, the epidemiological picture has completely changed,\u201d said Pizzi. \u201cThe ship may be an isolated case. But this virus isn\u2019t going anywhere.\u201d<br \/>Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<br \/>Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/tv-listings\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to TV Listings\">TV Listings<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/account\/newsletters\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Email Newsletters\">Email Newsletters<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/rss\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to RSS Feeds\">RSS Feeds<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/contests\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Contests and Rules\">Contests and Rules<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/contact\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Contact Us\">Contact Us<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/station\/2019\/09\/19\/learn-about-wsls-10-internships\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Internships at WSLS 10\">Internships at WSLS 10<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/careers\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Careers at WSLS 10\">Careers at WSLS 10<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/station\/2019\/11\/11\/closed-captioning-information\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Closed Captioning \/ Audio Description\">Closed Captioning \/ Audio Description<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/publicfiles.fcc.gov\/tv-profile\/WSLS-TV\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Public File\">Public File<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/eeo-report\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Current EEO Report\">Current EEO Report<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/station\/2019\/11\/11\/terms-of-use\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Terms of Use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/privacy\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Privacy Policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/usprivacy\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to Do Not Sell My Info\">Do Not Sell My Info<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/station\/2020\/11\/19\/fcc-applications\/\" aria-label=\"Navigate to FCC Applications\">FCC Applications<\/a><br \/><button type=\"button\" style=\"appearance:none;border:none;background:none;color:inherit;padding:0;cursor:pointer\" aria-label=\"Open cookie preferences dialog\">Cookie Preferences<\/button><br \/><span>If you need help with the Public File, call<\/span> <a class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__LinkBase-sc-1fnzlkn-9 iBLULw\" href=\"tel:+15405121559\" aria-label=\"(540) 512-1559\">(540) 512-1559<\/a><br \/><span>At WSLS, we are committed to informing and delighting our audience. In our commitment to covering our communities with innovation and excellence, we incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our news gathering, reporting, and presentation processes.<\/span> <a class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__LinkBase-sc-1fnzlkn-9 iBLULw\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/station\/2024\/04\/18\/how-we-are-using-ai-at-graham-media-group\/\" aria-label=\"Read our article\">Read our article<\/a> <span>to see how we are using Artificial Intelligence.<\/span><br \/>Copyright \u00a9 2026 WSLS.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMiyAFBVV95cUxNMjBkLUdUeU5fTzMtMWZRRk90aFdnZ1JOME91OGhsWmJqTThzR3U4bXNrczVxeFV0bk9pdzBhUmRITGJIN19vV1BPVDI1b3p0cjNaYnZrMmNrR1YwQ2c5RmpXeHl4V2xlcWIwbmVPNmlWM2x3ZlNVeHBtdkN2YW1UMC14bW1KcFhLWkU5ZzhpdU5KZ09oRXYxZUszMGNRTWJybHFZalBhNzZ3X1hQeThuQWNyWG9kOVZ4eHlNTTMwQmpxVlduOW9BNg?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Isabel DebreAssociated PressPublished:\u00a0May 6, 2026 at 1:15 PMIsabel DebreAssociated PressCopyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reservedHealth workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Misper Apawu)BUENOS AIRES \u2013 Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}