Argentine Scientists Set 150 Hantavirus Traps in Forests, Lakes and Mountains

Illustration of scientists conducting field research. (Ron Lach-Pexels)

Scientists in Argentina have set up the first trap to catch rodents that could carry hantavirus in an effort to detect the disease in Ushuaia.

The scientists, who are biologists from Buenos Aires, began Monday spending several days setting traps in various locations on the southern island of Tierra del Fuego.

They analyzed whether the captured rodents carried the Andes strain of the virus, the only known strain of hantavirus to spread between humans.

Hantavirus infection in humans is generally caused by exposure to the saliva, urine, or feces of infected rodents. (Pexels-David Hablutzel)

According to an AFP report, biologists and national park staff wearing masks and gloves set up dozens of small rectangular metal cages on a path outside Ushuaia as night fell.

Another trap is located in the Tierra del Fuego National Park, a 70,000-hectare (173,000-acre) forest, lake and mountain range located 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the city.

A local health service source added that the team set up up to 150 traps.

Tierra del Fuego provincial officials insist their region has never found a case of hantavirus since mandatory reporting 30 years ago - unlike in northern provinces, such as Rio Negro and Chubut.

Illustration of scientists conducting research in a laboratory. (Edward Jenner-Pexels)

The MV Hondius cruise ship, where the hantavirus outbreak that killed three people occurred, set sail from a city in the far south of Argentina on April 1.

Since then, many countries have been worried. However, WHO has confirmed that the hantavirus outbreak detected on the MV Hondius is not the beginning of a new pandemic.

On the one hand, Argentine scientists believe that it is most likely that the infection on the cruise ship occurred in another region.

Hantavirus, this rare respiratory disease, for which there is no cure, is usually spread through the urine, feces, and saliva of infected rodents.

The two hantavirus victims on the ship - a Dutch couple - had traveled extensively in Argentina for four months, with short visits to Chile and Uruguay.