Andes Hantavirus Outbreak In 2018 Gives Hope Of Avoiding ‘Epidemic,’ Officials Say

BreakingBusinessAndes Hantavirus Outbreak In 2018 Gives Hope Of Avoiding ‘Epidemic,’ Officials SayByMary Whitfill Roeloffs,Forbes Staff. Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Follow AuthorMay 07, 2026, 01:25pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineWorld Health Organization officials are pointing to an almost 8-year-old outbreak of the Hantavirus Andes variant in Argentina—the same strain responsible for a deadly outbreak on a cruise ship sailing for the Canary Islands—as a hopeful example for controlling the disease’s spread and keeping it from becoming a “large epidemic.” Health personnel assisting patients onto a boat from the cruise ship MV Hondius on May 6, 2026. AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsDr. Abdirahman Mahamud of the WHO on Thursday said the cruise ship situation is “similar” to an outbreak seen in Epuyén, Argentina in 2018 and 2019, in which the Andes strain (the only known hantavirus variant that can transmit person-to-person) was introduced the human population by a single infected person. That person attended a party before displaying symptoms, according to a WHO description of the outbreak, and six people from the same party then became symptomatic before continuing to pass the disease to others. After 18 cases were confirmed, public health officials forced people with confirmed cases to quarantine and encouraged self-isolation of possible contacts, measures a later study said “likely curtailed further spread.”In total, there were 34 confirmed Andes infections and 11 deaths and the outbreak is considered to be the largest documented human-to-human transmission event ever. The Argentine outbreak was the first time sustained person-to-person transmission of a hantavirus was spurred from a super-spreader event, infectious disease researchers reported, which were previously known to spur spread of diseases like Ebola and coronavirus. if...