Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Argentines hunting for source of hantavirus outbreak trap rats in southernmost city
Associated Press Argentine investigators searching for the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise last month were trapping rodents in the forests surrounding the southernmost city of Ushuaia on Tuesday, with the aim of detecting the possible presence of the rat-borne virus in an area previously thought unaffected. The scientists, wearing bright blue gloves and surgical masks, […]
May 20, 2026
How Wet Weather in Argentina Helped Fuel the Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak
Wired Climate change is contributing to the conditions driving a rodent boom—dubbed a ratada—in Argentina. The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has created a global public health crisis. But the driver of it is a rodent that weighs about an ounce, and climate shifts this year that have helped increase the odds of transmission. Across the […]
May 20, 2026
Andes Hantavirus Outbreak on a Cruise Ship, 2026
NEJM On April 27, 2026, a man (later classified as Patient 3 in the outbreak) was medically evacuated to Ascension Island from the Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship MV Hondius; he had severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and reported shortness of breath and fever that had begun on April 21. He had signs of pneumonia, although findings […]
May 20, 2026
CDC Chief Orders 2 Americans to Quarantine Over Hantavirus Concern
MedPageToday Agency cites outbreak-related cases in Europe after passengers departed cruise ship. The CDC’s temporary leader ordered two Americans to quarantine at a Nebraska hospital following their high-risk hantavirus exposures on an outbreak-hit cruise ship. Eighteen recently repatriated U.S. passengers from the MV Hondius have been requested to stay at the quarantine facility, the agency said in […]
May 20, 2026
The hantavirus outbreak is a tragedy—and a valuable data source
The Economist Uncovering how a virus spreads among a population involves some tricky detective work. The schedules of all those infected have to be carefully examined in the days or weeks around the time they fell ill, in order to work out who infected whom—and, most important, where and how. The more isolated the population, the […]
May 20, 2026
The Backward Logic of Chickenpox Parties
Wired Before vaccines, some parents intentionally exposed their children to the virus. In the internet age, that thinking is resurfacing. Anyone who has had chickenpox shares one distinct memory: the relentless, all-consuming itch. Ciara DiVita was only 3 years old when she caught the virus, but she remembers it well—along with the oven mitts she was […]
May 20, 2026
A rare Ebola strain is spreading with no vaccine. Here’s what you need to know
NPR The number of Ebola cases has been growing – and growing by a lot — each day since the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency on Saturday. The latest toll? More than 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected-Ebola deaths. The vast majority of the cases are in a province in northeastern Democratic […]
May 20, 2026
Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa Could Last Months, W.H.O. Says
NYT Health officials reported more than 130 suspected deaths and 540 cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, but experts say the figures could be much higher. Medical workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are experiencing a shortage of supplies as the number of suspected Ebola cases has passed 500, according to […]
May 20, 2026
New Ebola outbreak hits DRC and Uganda: What you need to know
Care Families in the eastern DRC and Uganda are facing a new Ebola outbreak alongside conflict, displacement, hunger, and fragile health systems. CARE and local partners are supporting preparedness efforts, with a focus on sharing trusted information, supporting infection prevention, and addressing the heightened risks facing women and girls. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) […]
May 20, 2026
A rare Ebola strain is spreading. Here’s why it’s so hard to contain
National Geographic As Ebola cases mount in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, experts explain what causes the disease—and the risk this outbreak poses to the rest of the world. The World Health Organization has declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern following an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in […]
May 20, 2026
