Argentina expands hantavirus probe, sending teams to trap and test rats in Mendoza

Article excerpt

Argentina is escalating its investigation into a hantavirus outbreak that infected passengers aboard an Atlantic cruise ship last month, dispatching scientific teams to Mendoza province to trap and test rodents for the virus. Meanwhile, authorities await laboratory results from Ushuaia in the far south. The outbreak has prompted a systematic effort to trace the virus's origins, with researchers focusing on rat populations as a potential source of transmission to the cruise ship and its travelers.