90-Second Read: Argentinian tourism hotspot denies causing Hantavirus outbreak

The BBC reports from the city of Ushuaia, where experts have been sent to investigate the origins of the outbreak. 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. We cannot rule out, in principle, that the infections occurred in Tierra del Fuego, but there is an important fact to consider: since Hantavirus became a notifiable disease, no cases have ever been reported in the province. The cruise ship is now anchored in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands where passengers are being evacuated and flown home.

Argentinian officials who spoke anonymously to some news outlets have said that is their leading hypothesis. Juan Manuel Pavlov, of the Fuegian Tourism Institute, said more than 95% of boats to Antarctica leave from the port. But for now, without the Dutch couple to fill in the gaps and officials unable to fully reconstruct their travels, many questions about how this outbreak started remain unanswered. 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.

It began its journey on 1 April, more than 6,000 miles away in Ushuaia in the province of Tierra del Fuego. Tierra del Fuego is Argentina's youngest and least populated province, with industries like hydrocarbon exploration and fishing closely followed by tourism as local sources of income. People ask whether there are infections in the province, and the fact there are no reports of sick people here brings calm. Health authorities are still trying to determine where the infection originated.

That uncertainty has fuelled intense speculation in parts of the media. And if rodents were to start moving, since they don't respect geographical boundaries, it's important to remember that we are an island. Chilean and Uruguayan authorities say the couple did not contract the virus in those countries, based on the World Health Organization's estimated incubation period of between one and eight weeks.