The Ushuaia tourism board has rejected claims it is “ground zero” for the hantavirus outbreak after passengers onboard a cruise ship departing the city tested positive for the illness

Oceanwide Expeditions’ MV Hondius reported cases of hantavirus at the start of April where three people died on board.

Widespread media coverage ensued, with suggestions passengers on the ship, which was sailing from Ushuaia to Cape Verde, may have contracted the illness in the Argentinian city.

The Ushuaia tourism board has strongly rejected the claims, saying its Ministry of Health has reported no cases of hantavirus in its localities since 1 April.

It was also reported that infected passengers had been travelling for several months prior to boarding the ship, suggesting they may have contracted hantavirus elsewhere before arriving in Argentina.

“The individuals linked to the widely publicised index cases, who began showing symptoms on 6 April aboard the vessel MV Honduis, which departed from the port of Ushuaia on 1 April, arrived in Ushuaia on the afternoon of 29 March,” the board said.

“This means their stay in the city lasted two days. In this context, the general incubation period for hantavirus is between 15 and 21 days, which does not align with a possible exposure period in Ushuaia.

“It is known that these individuals had travelled for several months prior to arriving in Ushuaia, visiting hantavirus-endemic areas in both Chile and Argentina, where the Andes strain circulates.”

Some media outlets have claimed the outbreak was started by birders searching for wildlife at a landfill site in Ushuaia, a claim the tourism board denies.

“We also deny reports suggesting that birdwatching tours authorised by this organisation enter the Ushuaia landfill site, as some media outlets have claimed,” it said.

The board also stated Santa Cruz, the neighbouring province to Tierra del Fuego where Ushuaia is, has not recorded any hantavirus cases in more than seven years.

It went on to say it does have a range of protective measures in place to ensure the safety of visitors, including access and capacity controls to avoid overcrowding, signage, installation of physical barriers, first aid protocols and frequent cleaning and disinfection of facilities and equipment.

Meanwhile, agents have said the outbreak of hantavirus is having no impact on cruise bookings.