On the 6th, a case of hantavirus infection was confirmed in San Carlos de Bariloche, a famous tourist city in southern Argentina. It is not yet clear whether the patient has any link to the MS Hondius cruise ship, which recently had a hantavirus outbreak.
The Argentine Ministry of Health stated on the 6th that a domestic epidemiological investigation has been launched to determine the possible source of infection.
The patient is a 45-year-old man who developed symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, and general pain on the 3rd and was then taken to the emergency room. He is currently in the intensive care unit. His wife and son are being preventively quarantined for the time being.
According to local media reports, the man visited Jujuy and Salta provinces on Argentina's northern border a week earlier.
Bariloche is located in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina and is known as the "Little Switzerland of South America." Although the departure point of the MS Hondius cruise ship, the provincial capital Ushuaia of Tierra del Fuego, is also in Patagonia, it is far from Bariloche.
Swiss Patient Had Been on Infected Cruise Ship
Meanwhile, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health issued a press release on the 6th stating that a patient infected with the hantavirus is being treated at the University Hospital Zurich. The patient had previously been on the MS Hondius cruise ship, which has been involved in the hantavirus outbreak.
The statement noted that the male patient and his wife returned from a trip to South America at the end of April. After developing relevant symptoms, he went to University Hospital Zurich and was immediately isolated. Hospital test results showed that he was infected with a member of the hantavirus "family," the Andes virus.
The statement said that, unlike the hantaviruses commonly found in Europe (which are mainly transmitted through the excreta of infected rodents), the Andes virus present in South America is capable of person-to-person transmission, but only through close contact. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health therefore believes that the likelihood of more cases emerging in Switzerland is low and that the risk to the public is minimal.
The statement said that although the patient’s wife has not developed any symptoms yet, she has self-isolated for safety reasons.
According to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, cases of hantavirus infection are rare in Switzerland. In recent years, no more than six cases have been reported annually, with most infections acquired abroad.
Cruise Ship Patients Visited Three South American Countries
In addition, on the 6th, the Argentine Ministry of Health published the travel history of the two patients from the MS Hondius cruise ship involved in the hantavirus outbreak, showing that the Dutch couple who first fell ill had visited Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding.
The Argentine Ministry of Health noted that the Dutch couple arrived in Argentina on November 27 last year and traveled by car for 40 days before entering Chile on January 7 this year. They continued their self-driving tour, and on January 31 entered Argentina’s Neuquén province, then returned to Chile again in mid-February. After entering Mendoza province in Argentina from Chile, they undertook a 20-day road trip before finally arriving in Misiones province. On March 13, they crossed into Uruguay by land and returned to Argentina on the 27th to travel to Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego province. On April 1, they departed from there aboard the MS Hondius cruise ship.
The Argentine Ministry of Health stated that it is currently unable to confirm whether the source of infection is within Argentina, but the ministry will continue to monitor the epidemic situation and strengthen coordination with provincial governments and international organizations.