USHUAIA, Argentina (AP) — Travelers hoping to catch a glimpse of Magellanic penguins and humpback whales have journeyed in greater numbers every year to Ushuaia, the main Antarctic cruise hub at the southernmost point of Argentina. The wind-lashed city that bills itself as the “end of the world” now fears for its future. In the last week, the remote outpost has found itself at the center of speculation about the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak on an Atlantic cruise after Argentina’s Health Ministry said it was examining whether the outbreak’s first victims, a Dutch couple who died in April, contracted the rat-borne virus there.Questions surround the investigation. Authorities in Ushuaia — the capital of left-leaning Tierra del Fuego Province, which has frequently clashed with libertarian President Javier Milei — say they’re victims of a smear campaign. The Argentine Health Ministry says it can’t rule out any destination visited by the Dutch bird enthusiasts during their monthslong road trip through Argentina and Chile before boarding the ship in Ushuaia.
Despite a lack of any evidence to suggest the outbreak started in Ushuaia, people here whose livelihoods depend on foreign visitors say they are feeling the effects.
