Ushuaia landfill under scrutiny as potential hantavirus exposure site; local officials and workers reject theory

An open-air landfill outside Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, has become the subject of international media speculation about the origin of hantavirus cases aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. The index case was Dutch ornithologist Leo Schlperoord and his wife, who spent 2.5 days in Ushuaia before boarding. Local officials, landfill workers, and bird-watching guides reject the theory that they contracted Andes virus (Andes Sur strain) at the facility, describing it as "media" and "political" misdirection. The landfill is a known bird-watching attraction due to rare raptors and native species. Epidemiological consensus, including statements from the Argentine Society of Infectiology (SADI), suggests the couple likely acquired infection during their five-month travels across Argentina and Chile, where the Andes Sur variant is endemic and rodent reservoirs are present. Provincial health authorities and the Malbrán Institute will conduct rodent captures and environmental sampling beginning Monday to determine hantavirus prevalence in Tierra del Fuego.