Overview
- The Health Ministry issued the preventive alert covering 13 regions from Atacama to Magallanes on Tuesday, and the decree will remain in force until July 31, 2027.
- Officials reported 46 infections and 18 deaths so far this year, a 39% lethality that health authorities cited as the main reason for the stepped‑up measures.
- The decree gives authorities extraordinary powers to accelerate surveillance, hire specialists, carry out sanitary controls and buy supplies through direct contracting.
- Public guidance includes avoiding contact with rodents, ventilating closed homes before entering, cleaning unused spaces with water and bleach, keeping food protected and covering garbage.
- Hantavirus is endemic in Chile and spread mainly by the long‑tailed mouse; the Andes strain in the region has been linked to rare person‑to‑person transmission and drew global attention after a cruise outbreak earlier this year.