90-Second Read: Hantavirus outbreak origin still a mystery, medical experts address theories

As epidemiologists race to find more answers to the Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, they have addressed some theories about its origins. As epidemiologists race to find more answers to the origin of the Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise, they have ruled out some theories circulating online. There have been over 100 Hantavirus cases and more than 30 deaths recorded in Argentina this year, and not all regions have the rice rat that is known to carry the disease, according to health officials. Experts have said a bird-watching tour at a landfill was likely not the origin.

However, more information has surfaced that proves that theory unlikely, according to health officials. Awan stressed that the probe into the origin is still early, and the most important thing that public health officials need to do is focus on containing the spread. It would be the icing on the cake if we found out where the origins are. We expect that exposure happened in one of those locations.

There's absolutely every reason to believe that this came from rodents. Omer Awan, a senior public health contributor for Forbes, told ABC News on Tuesday that science has shown the Andes strain needs direct inhalation of the bodily particles from infected rodents, especially in contained areas. The bird-watching couple who were infected and went to the landfill also visited Patagonia, which is over a thousand miles north of the bird-watching site, according to health officials. The more important public health conversation here is to make sure the virus is contained.