90-Second Read: City ‘at the end of the world’ fears for future after Hantavirus outbreak

The "end of the world" outpost, which annually draws increasing numbers of travellers eager to see Magellanic penguins and humpback whales, now fears for its future. Scientists from a government research institute have yet to arrive in Ushuaia more than two weeks after Argentina's Health Ministry said it would send them to test rodents in the province, which has never registered a case of the Hantavirus. Here in Ushuaia, authorities argue the most logical source of contagion is the Patagonian region that spans southern Chile and three Argentine provinces, where the same Andes Hantavirus identified in the cruise outbreak circulates. Argentina's Health Ministry is examining whether the outbreak's first victims, a Dutch couple who died in April, contracted the rat-borne virus in Ushuaia before boarding their ship.

The other syndrome caused by Hantavirus, haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, usually develops within a week or two after exposure. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is fatal in nearly 40 per cent of people infected, while the death rate for haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome varies from 1 per cent to 15 per cent of patients, according to the CDC. Several travel agents said that fears about the Andes variant of the Hantavirus have already caused some Americans and Europeans to scrap cruise bookings for next season. Many residents of Tierra del Fuego, lured by tax breaks to the rugged region in the 1970s, remember when Antarctic travel meant naval patrols and research expeditions.

Despite a lack of any evidence to suggest the outbreak started in Ushuaia, people here whose livelihoods depend on foreign visitors say they are feeling the effects Ushuaia, Argentina's southernmost city and a bustling hub for Antarctic cruises, is facing an unprecedented crisis. Death rates vary depending on which Hantavirus causes the illness. In the 2025-2026 season, more than 135,000 did, according to Argentine port authorities, many hoping to experience the world's largest ice sheets before they melt. But health officials say they have no record of the Dutch couple visiting those endemic areas during the incubation period for the virus, estimated to be between nine and 45 days before the arrival of symptoms on April 6.

Argentina's apparent lack of urgency in hunting for the origin of the outbreak has perplexed experts overseas. In recent days, they've stressed that all is well in Argentina's treasured tourist destinations. Ninety percent of Antarctic cruises depart from Ushuaia, and the city says it relies on tourism for over 25% of its revenue.