- Cruise deaths linked to hantavirus, Argentina faces rising cases.
- Climate change fuels rodent spread, expanding virus to new regions.
- Increased infections now reported widely, including Buenos Aires Province.
- Investigators track passengers’ exposure, warn of flu-like symptoms.
A deadly virus outbreak linked to an Antarctic cruise has put health officials in Argentina under pressure as investigators work to determine where passengers were exposed to hantavirus before multiple deaths were reported aboard the MV Hondius.
The outbreak has drawn global attention not only because of the deaths connected to the expedition ship, but also because Argentina is currently seeing a sharp rise in hantavirus infections. Experts warn that changing climate conditions may be helping the rodent-borne virus spread into new regions, increasing the risk of human exposure.
Argentina Faces Rising Hantavirus Cases
Argentina continues to report the highest incidence of hantavirus in Latin America, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). On Tuesday, the country’s Health Ministry confirmed 101 infections since June 2025, nearly double the number recorded during the same period a year earlier.
The Andes virus can trigger hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory illness that can quickly become fatal. Officials said the disease killed nearly one-third of infected patients last year, a sharp increase from the average mortality rate of 15 per cent recorded over the previous five years.
Scientists and public health specialists say shifting weather patterns are helping the virus expand into new regions.
“Argentina has become more tropical because of climate change,” said infectious disease specialist Hugo Pizzi. “That has brought disruptions, like dengue and yellow fever, but also new tropical plants that produce seeds for mice to proliferate. There is no doubt that as time goes by, the hantavirus is spreading more and more.”
How Climate Change May Be Fueling The Virus
Researchers say Argentina’s increasingly unpredictable weather patterns are helping hantavirus spread beyond its traditional range.
The country has experienced prolonged droughts alongside episodes of intense rainfall in recent years. Experts believe this climate variability is creating ideal conditions for rodent populations to grow.
Dry conditions often force rodents to search for food and water in new areas, increasing human contact. Heavy rains, meanwhile, boost vegetation growth and seed production, attracting rodents that carry the virus.
“When precipitation increases, food availability increases, rodent populations grow, and if there are infected rodents, the chance of transmission between rodents, and eventually to humans, also increases,” González Ittig explained.
Health officials say the epidemiological map of hantavirus in Argentina has changed dramatically. Cases once concentrated in Patagonia are now increasingly appearing in the country’s far north. According to the Health Ministry, 83 per cent of infections are now recorded there.
Earlier this year, authorities also issued alerts over several fatal outbreaks, including cases in Buenos Aires Province.
“With the climate changing, the epidemiological picture has completely changed,” Pizzi said. “The ship may be an isolated case. But this virus isn’t going anywhere.”
Focus Turns To Patagonia And Ushuaia
Although Tierra del Fuego has never recorded a hantavirus case, investigators believe the Dutch couple may have contracted the virus during a bird-watching trip near Ushuaia. Authorities are also tracing their travels across Patagonia, where infections have previously been reported.
Experts warn the virus can be difficult to detect early because symptoms often resemble the flu. “Tourists might think they just have a cold and not take it seriously,” said researcher Raul González Ittig. Concerns are also rising across Patagonia after Bariloche reported its first human hantavirus case of 2026 this week.
Cruise Ship Deaths Raise International Alarm
Health officials confirmed that passengers aboard the MV Hondius tested positive for the Andes virus after three deaths were reported, a 70-year-old Dutch man on April 11, his wife on April 26, and a German passenger on May 2, according to the WHO.
As hantavirus can incubate for up to eight weeks, investigators are still trying to determine where the passengers were infected before boarding the ship in Ushuaia or during their travels in Argentina and Chile. Authorities are now tracing contacts and monitoring possible exposures to prevent further spread.
About Hantavirus
Hantavirus is primarily spread through contact with infected rodents or exposure to their urine, saliva or droppings. People can become infected when contaminated particles are disturbed and inhaled, especially in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces.
Exposure commonly occurs in cabins, sheds, storage spaces or rural buildings where rodents are present.
While human-to-human transmission is considered rare, the WHO says it can occur with some hantavirus strains, including the Andes virus.
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