Until a few days ago, the vast majority of Spaniards had never heard of hantavirus. Probably not Ushuaiathe capital of the province of Tierra del Fuego. The crisis unleashed by the MV Hondius cruise ship, however, has united both names in one of the most worrying episodes so far in the turbulent 2026, at least in health terms. And so worries in Ushuaia. A lot. Although there are still unknowns about how, where and when the viral outbreak broke out, in the southern region they fear that what happened affects one of the pillars of their economy: tourism.
They even talk about a “smear campaign”.
And the hantavirus arrived. Although there are still many months ahead until December, 2026 seemed basically doomed to be the year of the iran waroil through the clouds, Maduro’s arrest or (in another order of things) the North American World Cup. Now that list is expanded with one more item: the hantavirus. Since on May 2 A viral outbreak was confirmed on board the MV Hondius, the world is waiting for what happens to the ship, its passengers and the chain of possible people infected by a virus that until almost two weeks ago was almost completely unknown in Europe.
In a place in Patagonia… In Ushuaia, capital of the province of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), one of the southernmost cities of the planet, the evolution of the outbreak is also being followed with interest. Although there what really generates debate is not the last hour about the outbreak or what may happen from now on, but what has happened in recent weeks. The reason is very simple: the fateful voyage of the MV Hondius left its port April 1. When the ship set sail, there were about 140 passengers on board, including the septuagenarian Dutchman who only a few days later (on the 6th) began to show symptoms of infection.
More than a month has passed since then, four long weeks during which events have happened at breakneck speed. That first patient died on April 11, days later his wife did and since then at least one more dead and half a dozen infected. As for the MV Hondius, after the evacuation of the last hours on board the ship there are only a few dozen of people who will continue heading to the Netherlands.
What has not changed is the question that authorities have been asking for days: Where is the origin of the outbreak? Where the hell did the Dutch couple get infected?
A remote landfill. Taking into account the incubation period of hantavirus, which ranges between one and six weeks, authorities are working with the hypothesis that the epicenter of the outbreak is not on the ship. That is, the most plausible theory (at least in appearance) is that the virus they took him to the MV Hondius one or more travelers who were already carrying it before navigation began. That made all eyes turn first to the couple of Dutch retirees and second to Ushuaia, the place where they embarked.
In recent days the conversation has revolved around a very specific point in the town: a garbage dump located about seven kilometers from the center of Ushuaia, a place where, assures The Countryepidemiologists are looking for traces of infected rodents. Hantavirus infection, let us remember, is contracted mainly by coming into contact with the urine, feces or saliva of certain rodents. The most common thing is that contagion occurs by inhaling remains of this waste in poorly ventilated spaces, but it could also be contracted in a large landfill.
The unknowns begin. That a Dutch couple (he 70 years old, she 69) stop by a mega urban garbage dump before embarking on a luxury cruise through the South Atlantic may sound strange, but it makes a lot of sense. The MV Hondius trip was not just any trip. It was planned as an expedition cruise to contemplate Atlantic fauna. And the Ushuaia landfill is not just any garbage dump either. Lovers of birds and natural photography usually go there to enjoy the species that fly over it, including scavenger birds such as the white matamico.
In recent days it has been published that some of the travelers who boarded the MV Hondius visited the dump. The Country even interviewed to a guide who was in the area with some of the tourists from the cruise, although the Dutch couple was not among them. Did they get infected there? Is that the epicenter and genesis of the outbreak? Hard to know.
First because the marriage (unfortunately) has died. Second, because before boarding the cruise the couple had made a long road trip that took them to different parts of South America. In fact, it is believed that they were four months visiting several countries on the continent, including Chile and Uruguay.
“We have no evidence”. This fact (that the first deaths were in other parts of South America) has been strongly emphasized by the authorities of Ushuaia, who do not quite understand that the couple was infected in their territory. The reason? The main one, insists Juan Facundo Petrina, general director of Epidemiology and Environmental Health of the province, is that the hantavirus is not a problem in the area.
“In Tierra del Fuego we have no record of cases in our history,” clarifies to the BBC. “Specifically, since 1996, when the National Surveillance System included it among the notifiable diseases, we have not had a single case in Tierra del Fuego.”
More than 1,000 km north. As if that were not enough, Petrina details a few more facts. To begin with, the hantavirus endemic area is more than 1,500 km to the north. Also remember that there are no records confirming that the mouse subspecies that transmits the disease lives in the area. “And if rodents begin to move, since they do not respect borders, it is important to remember that we are an island,” duck.
Another key that these days have been remembered is that the Dutch retired couple arrived in Ushuaia on Wednesday, March 29, just three days before boarding. Since there is no evidence that the husband was unwell until April 6, this means that he could have been infected in early or mid-March, before arriving in the southern city.
The great enigma. Despite Petrina’s skepticism, Argentine authorities have advanced their plans to inspect the region for traces of hantavirus. In fact, the search includes the mega dump from Ushuaia.
In the background, the same questions that have been around for days: if the epicenter is there, why haven’t more infections been recorded, even among the local population? Not far from the landfill there is a cycle path and there is even a beach. Does the fact that this is an especially tragic season for hantavirus in Argentina, with 101 cases and 32 deaths since June? On the other hand… Is it so difficult for the rodents that transmit the virus to have moved, as other species do?
The other big factor: tourism. At stake is more than just clarifying which has been the epicenter of the outbreak: Ushuaia’s economy. Its location explains why tourism plays a key role in the region. “With more than 500 annual stops, the cruise industry is fundamental to the provincial economy,” acknowledge the BBC Juan Manuel Pavlov, from the Fuegian Institute of Tourism, who estimates that 95% of the ships heading to Antarctica set sail from there.
Other sources estimate that about 21% of the population of Ushuaia lives off tourism, either directly or indirectly. Petrina already has slipped that, in his opinion, the news of recent days fuels “a smear campaign” towards the destination. And all, insistdespite the fact that in his opinion the possibilities that the outbreak has started in the province are “practically zero.”
“Now the entire world associates Ushuaia and cruise travel with a lethal virus, and if this continues, reservations for next season will plummet because no one will want to expose themselves,” Rubén Rafael regretsformer head of the Health area of Tierra del Fuego. “Ushuaia’s reputation as a tourist destination is suffering greatly.” Hence have already claimed to the Government to refute the fake news.
Images | 66 North (Unsplash), Mike (Flickr)
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