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. He said he doesn't believe the virus came from the Argentinian region where the MV Hondius left from, but rather all signs point to it originating in the Andes Cordillera region in.

He said WHO has confirmed the first Hantavirus cases on board the MV Hondius stemmed from people who previously traveled to the Andes Cordillera region. One theory that has popped up is that the virus originated from a bird watching landfill in Ushuaia, located at the southern tip of Argentina, where a couple who were infected with the virus visited, Argentinian officials first hypothesized. 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. There's absolutely every reason to believe that this came from rodents. We expect that exposure happened in one of those locations.

However, more information has surfaced that proves that theory unlikely, according to health officials. 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 more important public health conversation here is to make sure the virus is contained. It would be the icing on the cake if we found out where the origins are.

Bird watching is not going to lead to the Andres strain. 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.