Tierra del Fuego
Argentine province at the southern tip of South America; Andes-virus endemic zone and Antarctic cruise departure hub.
Last refreshed: 7 May 2026
Why does an Argentine province at the end of the world sit at the centre of a European health alert?
Timeline for Tierra del Fuego
Mentioned in: PAHO flagged Southern Cone hantavirus in December
Pandemics and Biosecurity- Where is Tierra del Fuego and why is it linked to hantavirus?
- Tierra del Fuego is Argentina's southernmost province at the tip of South America. It lies within the Andes-virus endemic zone of Patagonia, where the long-tailed pygmy rice rat carries the virus. It is also the departure point for most Antarctic cruises, bringing international travellers into the endemic zone each austral summer.Source: CIDRAP
- Was the MV Hondius hantavirus exposure in Tierra del Fuego or at sea?
- Michael Osterholm of CIDRAP assessed that the 10-to-20-day median HCPS incubation pointed to pre-boarding exposure in the Ushuaia port environment in Tierra del Fuego rather than transmission at sea. The question remains unresolved pending full NICD sequencing results.Source: CIDRAP
- Is it safe to visit Tierra del Fuego given the hantavirus alert?
- The risk to tourists visiting Ushuaia for Antarctic cruises is low but specific: avoid close contact with rodents or rodent droppings, particularly in natural areas. Cruise operators sailing from Ushuaia now face pressure to introduce Andes-specific pre-departure risk briefings following the MV Hondius cluster.Source: WHO
Background
Tierra del Fuego is the southernmost province of Argentina, occupying the eastern portion of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the tip of South America, shared with Chile. Its capital, Ushuaia, is widely described as the world's southernmost city and is the primary departure point for Antarctic expedition cruises. The province has a population of approximately 175,000, an economy centred on tourism, fishing, and duty-free electronics manufacturing, and an ecosystem of sub-Antarctic forests, steppes, and glaciers. Tierra del Fuego sits within the Andes-virus endemic zone of Argentine Patagonia, where the reservoir host, the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, circulates in the native Nothofagus (southern beech) Forest.
Tierra del Fuego is the endemic-zone port from which the MV Hondius sailed in late March or early April 2026, before the Andes hantavirus cluster that ultimately reached 8 cases and 3 deaths across 23 nationalities. PAHO's Epidemiological Alert of 19 December 2025 flagged elevated Southern Cone hantavirus cases five months before the vessel departed, with Argentina's 2025 caseload at roughly twice the prior-year baseline. The province's intersection of Andes-virus endemicity and a high-volume international tourist gateway, specifically the Antarctic expedition cruise industry operating through Ushuaia, is the structural condition the MV Hondius cluster exposed. Michael Osterholm of CIDRAP assessed that the median 10-to-20-day HCPS incubation pointed to pre-boarding exposure in the Ushuaia port environment rather than at sea.
