Argentina 101: What is hantavirus and how do you prevent it

MilHojas said:
buenosairesherald.com

Argentina 101: What is hantavirus and how do you prevent it - Buenos Aires Herald

The disease is causing international concern after an outbreak on Dutch cruise MV Hondius, which departed from Tierra del Fuego, killed three people
buenosairesherald.com buenosairesherald.com
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This is a fairly poor article, they basically left out the part about how do you prevent it?

This is the advice from Chile:

Precauciones para evitar el contagio​

El virus pierde rápidamente su nivel infeccioso al exponerlo a detergente, agua con cloro, luz solar y aire. Por eso, el infectólogo sugiere las siguientes medidas para prevenir el contagio:
  • Evitar lugares donde habitualmente anidan roedores: bodegas, leñeras, entretechos, cajas de tapones.
    Al ingresar a una casa que ha estado deshabitada, ventilar ampliamente antes de ocupar, por al menos 30 minutos.
  • Guardar todos los alimentos (especialmente granos, legumbres, semillas, fruta y tubérculos) en envases bien cerrados, incluidos los de mascotas.
  • Evitar acampar en zonas con maleza y hacerlo en carpas con piso.
  • Limpiar periódicamente el piso y la superficie de la cocina.
  • Botar la basura en recipientes cerrados y lejos de la casa o carpa.
  • No dejar utensilios sin lavar.
  • Proteger a los depredadores naturales de los ratones como búhos, gatos y culebras.
(From: https://www.clinicaalemana.cl/artic...s-hanta-patologia-grave-que-se-puede-prevenir)

And:

¿Cómo se previene la infección con Hantavirus?

Si vive, trabaja o está de vacaciones en una zona donde hay roedores:

No ingrese en habitaciones o recintos que hayan permanecido cerrados por algún tiempo, sin antes haber ventilado previamente durante 30 minutos. Mantenga las malezas y pastizales cortados a ras de suelo, despejando desechos y escombros en un radio de 30 metros alrededor de la vivienda.

Selle con planchas de lata, pegadas y clavadas, con cemento u otro material firme las aberturas que tengan un diámetro igual o mayor a medio centímetro, en escuelas, viviendas, galpones y bodegas.

(From: https://www.ispch.gob.cl/biomedico/vigilancia-de-laboratorio/ambitos-de-vigilancia/vigilancia-hanta/)

And again:

Por esto, es fundamental enfocarse en su prevención, siguiendo los siguientes consejos:
  • Evitar la exposición a las partículas de excremento y saliva de los roedores, por ejemplo, si voy a hacer un trekking o alguna actividad, realizarlo en lugares donde no haya pastizales altos o no bajar mi cabeza a la altura de estos.
  • En casas que no han estado habitadas, al entrar usar mascarilla, junto con abrir puertas y ventanas - el virus es fotosensible y muere por la luz solar-.
  • Limpiar los espacios y superficies con una solución de agua y cloro.
  • En caso de estar en una zona rural o camping, guardar todos los alimentos, en envases bien cerrados.
(From: https://www.clinicalascondes.cl/BLOG/Listado/Febrero-2023/cuidados-contra-hantavirus)

Given the amount of sunlight we receive here in Buenos Aires, it doesn't seem like it would be a major problem. Crossing one's fingers, of course, and hoping that nobody else thinks it's a good idea to travel half-way across the world just to go diving in a rat-infested municipal rubbish dump. I truly do not understand what sort of a culture can produce idiots like patient zero. It's almost on a par with how Austria accelerated the COVID pandemic out of the ski village of Ishgl.

Meanwhile, they've fingered the cook on the cruise liner as one of the culprits

IMG_8095.jpeg
 
FrankPintor said:
Crossing one's fingers, of course, and hoping that nobody else thinks it's a good idea to travel half-way across the world just to go diving in a rat-infested municipal rubbish dump. I truly do not understand what sort of a culture can produce idiots like patient zero.
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The original posted article and many others have explained why patient zero was not likely infected in Ushuaia. There has never been a recorded case in that province of Tierra del Fuego . Moreover, the 2-3 days the couple visited there, just before joining the ship, is not within the possible incubation time window. Every reputable news source has corrected themselves if they had mistakenly reported the source as a Ushuaia rubbish dump. This variant is only known to be found in Chile and the three provinces of Argentina in northern Patagonia.

Even though the Andes hantavirus variant is endemic in some parts of Patagonia, it is not present in Tierra del Fuego, the province from which the MV Hondius parted on April 1.

It is “likely” that the first two passengers of the cruise who caught the disease — a Dutch couple, who passed away — were infected during an earlier stage of their trip, when they visited northern Patagonia in Argentina and southern Chile, infectologist Elena Obieta told the Herald.
 
carride said:
The original posted article and many others have explained why patient zero was not likely infected in Ushuaia. There has never been a recorded case in that province of Tierra del Fuego . Moreover, the 2-3 days the couple visited there, just before joining the ship, is not within the possible incubation time window. Every reputable news source has corrected themselves if they had mistakenly reported the source as a Ushuaia rubbish dump. This variant is only known to be found in Chile and the three provinces of Argentina in northern Patagonia.
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I’ve seen the denials and affirmations that the particular rats that transmit hantavirus are not present in Ushuaia, and that they haven’t had cases of hantavirus. Of course, the good citizens of Ushuaia probably don’t go diving in their municipal dump, unlike these disgusting individuals, so, to some extent, who knows? I haven’t seen any retractions or refutations, please share.
 
Your comments do not indicate that you realize the difference between the variants of the hantavirus. Specially the Andes variant which is what this case has been proven to be, is transmitted by rats who live in the mountain areas, and not human municipal dumps. Perhaps other hantavirus transmitting rats living there, but not the ones in this case.

Also, more importantly, the incubation time needs more time than the short visit they spent in Ushuaia. Which indicates they became infected someplace earlier in their travels. OR by another person.

FrankPintor said:
Of course, the good citizens of Ushuaia probably don’t go diving in their municipal dump, unlike these disgusting individuals, so, to some extent, who knows? I haven’t seen any retractions or refutations, please share.
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I do not recall any retractions. Just early reporting when the story broke, where many newspapers wrote that the dump was a possible place these people visited. Later articles report that since that time, there is no proof that they did visit. Just read the news.

The WHO and professionals in Argentina have studied this desease well, especially after the 2018 Epuyén superspeader outbreak. CNN has been referenced often for their reporting in this case:

The NYT explains more about the status a few days ago:
Several passengers aboard the MV Hondius were passionate bird watchers and the landfill in Ushuaia is a prime location for birders to spot the white-throated caracara, a local raptor bird. Still, several bird watchers in the area said such birds can be observed from outside the landfill, and tour guides said they were not aware of the Dutch couple visiting the area.
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Juan Pavlov, the secretary of foreign policy at the Tierra del Fuego Tourism Institute, said it was unlikely the virus originated in the landfill, since the truckers and garbage collectors who work at the dump site never reported any symptoms.
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Seems like it's still not clear whether the virus is present in the rats at the municipal dump in Ushuaia:

"Local health authorities have voiced doubt about the idea that passengers were infected in Ushuaia based on the virus's incubation period, among other factors.

Tierra del Fuego provincial health official Juan Petrina on Thursday confirmed that a team of scientists from Argentina's leading epidemiological institute would travel to Ushuaia next week to determine whether or not hantavirus is present there".

I have to correct myself, despite Buenos Aires being very sunny, and the information from Chile I shared about the virus not surviving in sunlight, BA is actually having something of an outbreak, with 50% more cases so far this year than in 2025, and a 40% mortality rate (close to that of Ebola), which is pretty awful, even if 18 cases among 17 million isn't a lot. Chile had 44 cases in 2025 for about the same population, and is also seeing a big increase in 2026.
 
FrankPintor said:
Seems like it's still not clear whether the virus is present in the rats at the municipal dump in Ushuaia:

"Local health authorities have voiced doubt about the idea that passengers were infected in Ushuaia based on the virus's incubation period, among other factors.

Tierra del Fuego provincial health official Juan Petrina on Thursday confirmed that a team of scientists from Argentina's leading epidemiological institute would travel to Ushuaia next week to determine whether or not hantavirus is present there".

I have to correct myself, despite Buenos Aires being very sunny, and the information from Chile I shared about the virus not surviving in sunlight, BA is actually having something of an outbreak, with 50% more cases so far this year than in 2025, and a 40% mortality rate (close to that of Ebola), which is pretty awful, even if 18 cases among 17 million isn't a lot. Chile had 44 cases in 2025 for about the same population, and is also seeing a big increase in 2026.
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From what I've read, many of the cases are being contracted by workers in warehouses and the like, enclosed spaces. Not many seem to be contracting it via just roaming around. I also read that younger men are most at risk (likely because they work in industries that would put them in buildings suffering rodent issues...up close with their waste). I still don't believe it's something that survives well in open spaces/sunlight as much. Mostly in homes/ garage spaces, factories, warehouses where clutter and rodent excrement gets swept up and inhaled. They suggest airing out spaces that have been vacant for awhile(cabins, 2nd homes, etc...) and making sure to wet with bleach/water any areas that could have rodent droppings before cleaning them more fully. It's an awful disease. Hopefully they'll pay more attention to it as cases increase. Though, a few years ago there was also a bit of a spike like the one we're having this year. Same happens with mosquito borne illness. Some years are far worse depending on weather, construction booms, etc... and other years you barely hear a peep about infections.
 
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