Overview
- Argentina announced on Friday that Malbran Institute scientists will work with U.S. CDC biologists in Malargüe, Mendoza from June 8 to 12 to trap and test rodents for the Andes hantavirus.
- The probe follows an outbreak linked to the MV Hondius that infected at least 11 people and killed three after the ship left Ushuaia in April.
- Laboratories are still processing more than 100 rodent samples taken in Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego and officials say those results could take up to a month to return.
- Investigators are retracing the travels of a Dutch couple who fell ill before boarding to narrow likely exposure sites and experts suspect contact with infected rodent droppings or urine.
- The WHO says the outbreak poses low public risk, but the Andes strain has a high fatality rate and no vaccine so authorities continue isolation, quarantine and contact tracing to protect passengers and communities.