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Argentina Probes Cruise Ship Hantavirus Cluster as Flight Attendant Undergoes Testing

Health officials are tracing contacts after tests identified the Andes strain linked to Argentina and Chile.

Overview

  • Argentina’s health ministry opened an investigation into a suspected hantavirus cluster on a cruise that left Ushuaia and was sailing toward Cape Verde.
  • Lab tests on infected passengers detected the Andes strain, which the ministry says has been reported only in Argentina and Chile.
  • A KLM cabin crew member who assisted a woman who later died reported symptoms and is in an Amsterdam hospital while tests are carried out.
  • Dutch media report three infections confirmed and five suspected among people who were on the ship, and the crew member would be the first possible off-ship case if confirmed.
  • Local outlets in Argentina say 42 hantavirus cases have been recorded nationwide this year, and the World Health Organization judges the risk of a large outbreak to be low.