Argentina's health ministry has announced an expansion of its search for hantavirus-carrying rodents to western Mendoza province, following a deadly outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship in April. The ship, which was traveling from Ushuaia to Cape Verde, had three passengers die from hantavirus, prompting an investigation into the potential origins of the outbreak in Argentina, where the Andes hantavirus strain is endemic. Scientists from the Malbran Institute, the country's leading infectious disease center, previously examined rodents in Ushuaia and will now conduct further investigations in Mendoza from June 8 to 12, collaborating with experts from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although hantavirus is endemic in various provinces, Mendoza has not confirmed local circulation of the Andes virus, although there is potential for the presence of the reservoir rodent. The health ministry noted that the sites for the new study were selected based on ecological and eco-epidemiological criteria related to rodent habits. Meanwhile, Tierra del Fuego has not reported any hantavirus cases in the past 30 years.