Tourist hotspot at 'end of the world' denies causing hantavirus outbreak
Key takeaways
- On board were 114 passengers and 61 crew members from 22 countries.
- One theory suggests a passenger may have been infected at a landfill site on the outskirts of Ushuaia, where tourists often visit to watch birds and where waste attracts rats and mice.
- That suggestion, however, has not been well received locally.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Matías Zibell BBC Mundo, reporting from Ushuaia BBC visits Argentine city in hunt for origins of hantavirus outbreak As Argentina's southernmost city, Ushuaia has long enjoyed its reputation as 'The End of the World' and as a gateway for trips both to Antarctica and for tourists to explore the dramatic, natural beauty of Patagonia.
But in recent days it has been grappling with a different kind of fame, one that has cast a shadow over local businesses and officials: the suggestion it could be 'ground zero' for the hantavirus outbreak on the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
The cruise ship, which is anchored in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands where passengers are being evacuated and flown home, began its journey on 1 April more than 6,000 miles away in Ushuaia, in the province of Tierra del Fuego.