‘Almost zero’ chance Dutch man got hantavirus in Argentina’s Ushuaia, official says

The patient and his wife, both MV Hondius passengers who died of the disease, were in the city only a few days before showing symptoms

There is an “almost zero” chance that the Dutch man linked to the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship contracted the disease in the Argentine port of Ushuaia, a provincial health official said on Friday.

Juan Petrina, director of epidemiology for Tierra del Fuego province, where Ushuaia is located, told reporters that his assessment was based on the virus’s incubation period, among other factors.

The Dutch man and his wife, both of whom died of the virus, boarded the Hondius in Ushuaia on April 1. They spent 48 hours in the city before they set sail.

The Dutch man first displayed symptoms of the virus five days later on April 6, while at sea, Petrina noted.

“The time frames do not correspond to a possible infection in Ushuaia,” Petrina said.

According to the World Health Organization, the incubation period – the time between infection and the onset of symptoms – for hantavirus is between one and six weeks.