Tourist hotspot at 'end of the world' denies causing hantavirus outbreak

BBC

As Argentina's southernmost city, Ushuaia has long enjoyed its reputation as 'The End of the World' and as a gateway to Antarctica and to the dramatic, natural beauty of Patagonia.

But in recent days, it has been grappling with a different kind of fame, one that has cast a shadow over local businesses and officials: the suggestion it could be ground zero for the hantavirus outbreak on the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.

The cruise ship is now anchored in Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands, where passengers are being evacuated and flown home. It began its journey on 1 April, more than 6 000 miles away in Ushuaia in the province of Tierra del Fuego.

On board were 114 passengers and 61 crew members from 22 countries. While the virus is believed to have come aboard there, its precise origin - and the identity of those carrying it - remains unclear. That uncertainty has fuelled intense speculation in parts of the media.

One theory suggests a passenger may have been infected at a landfill site on the outskirts of Ushuaia, where tourists often visit to watch birds and where waste attracts rats and mice. Argentinian officials who spoke anonymously to some news outlets have said that it is their leading hypothesis.

That suggestion, however, has not been well received locally.

"In Tierra del Fuego we have no record of hantavirus cases in our history," Juan Facundo Petrina, the province's Director General of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, said.

"And specifically, since 1996 - when the National Surveillance System included it among mandatory reporting diseases - we haven't had a single case in Tierra del Fuego."

Petrina, who took on his position in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic, has repeated this point in every press conference and interview he has given in recent days.

Long-tailed mouse

He has stressed that his province is an unlikely source of the infection and that the endemic zone for hantavirus lies more than 1 500km (930 miles) to the north.

"To begin with, we do not have the subspecies of the long-tailed mouse [which transmits the disease], nor do we share the same climatic conditions as northern Patagonia - neither in humidity nor temperature - for its development," he said.

"And if rodents were to start moving, since they don't respect geographical boundaries, it's important to remember that we are an island.

"They would face the limitation of crossing the Strait of Magellan in order to infect local species, so that is an additional difficulty, beyond the climate."

While many experts agree with Petrina that the infection is unlikely to have occurred in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina's national government has announced it is dispatching a team of experts there to determine whether there are traces of hantavirus or whether the long-tailed mouse has reached the region.

The team will work with local biologists to trap rats at the landfill site and test them for the virus. But two days after the announcement, the experts have yet to arrive. When the BBC visited the site, dozens of birds circled the piles of waste, and there was no sign of an active investigation.

Epidemiologist Eduardo López, head of the Department of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital in Buenos Aires, said further investigation in the province is necessary.

"The case requires more study because ecosystems are changing," he said.

"For example, the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, whose original habitat was the Patagonian Andes and north-western Argentina, can now be found in the province of Buenos Aires alongside other rodents that transmit the disease."

The urgency is not only scientific but economic. Tierra del Fuego is Argentina's youngest and least populated province, with industries such as hydrocarbon exploration and fishing, closely followed by tourism, as local sources of income.

Juan Manuel Pavlov, of the Fuegian Tourism Institute, said more than 95% of boats to Antarctica leave from the port. "With more than 500 port calls a year, the cruise industry is fundamental to the provincial economy."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx21ej471g2o