On the hunt for the rat, or rather the rat vector. An Argentinian scientific mission is heading to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego next week to track down the possible presence of rodents carrying hantavirus, which could have been the source of the outbreak on the ship Hondius, which departed from this port at the end of the world.
A team from the Malbran Institute of Buenos Aires, an Argentinian reference in infectious diseases and epidemiology (somewhat equivalent to the French Pasteur Institute), will be on the ground in the port of 80,000 inhabitants, to try to refute, or confirm, the infectious suspicion that hangs over this major tourist destination.
The Hondius cruise ship, on which an outbreak of infection occurred at sea, departed from Ushuaia on April 1st. As of May 13th, according to the WHO, 11 cases, including three deaths, had been reported. The mission's objective is to to collect samples (from rodents) next week“,” Juan Petrina, the Epidemiology Director of the Tierra del Fuego province, told the press on May 14, without specifying how many rodents would need to be captured. After analysis, It is assumed that the results should be ready within four weeks. "to come," he added, while being cautious about the timeframe.
Read alsoHantavirus: What Argentina knows, and doesn't know, about its experience with the virus
No cases of hantavirus in the city
Ushuaia, where more than 150,000 tourists pass through each year on cruise ships, is desperately defending itself against accusations of being the source of the contagion of the first case passenger, a Dutchman who had stayed in town for 48 hours before boarding.
According to local authorities, hantavirus has been absent from the province since its notification became mandatory 30 years ago. Also absent, they say, is the long-tailed rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus), vector of the "Andes" strain of the virus, transmissible from human to human, identified for Hondius.
Locally, the focus is shifting to other Argentinian provinces, much further north, where the hantavirus is present. The Dutch couple had traveled for four months between Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The epidemiological situation in the area has not changed much.“, underlined Mr. Petrina. “ We haven't had any new cases of hantavirus. However, 45 days have already passed since the ship's departure.“.
"A safe place"
The precise locations where rodent captures must be carried out have not yet been defined"But discussions are underway between the province and the Malbran Institute," he added. The epidemiologist was specifically asked about possible planned rodent captures at a large landfill outside Ushuaia.
There, according to information that has gone almost viral – but to date not officially confirmed – the Dutch case zero, a keen birdwatcher, may have visited the area during his stay in Ushuaia to observe scavengers. And, possibly, become infected, due to the presence of long-tailed rats.
“ No samples will be taken from the landfill itself, because it doesn't make sense; the rodents found there are urban rodents, not susceptible to hantavirus.“,” Mr. Petrina emphasized. “Rather in the surrounding areas, but we don't yet have the exact locations“.
According to Guillermo DeFerrari, a biologist at the Southern Center for Scientific Investigations in Ushuaia, another possible capture site, since the long-tailed rat primarily inhabits wooded ecosystems, would be Tierra del Fuego National Park, a mountainous park 15 km from Ushuaia. Among the unknowns that the Malbran mission will attempt to clarify: Is the long-tailed rat absent from Tierra del Fuego? Is a local subspecies (about which there is scientific debate) present, and, more importantly, could it be carrying the virus?
The authorities in Tierra del Fuego hammered home a " message of calm "Regarding the epidemiological situation in the province, for the attention of the tourism sector." We live in a safe place, and it's not only safe to visit as a tourist, it's also safe to live here.“,” added Patricio Cornejo, president of the Chamber of Tourism, deploring a “ fake news from abroad "according to which the Hondius originated in the city.
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