Argentine health and investigative authorities are trapping rodents in the forests around Ushuaia, the country’s southernmost city, as part of efforts to determine the source of a hantavirus outbreak. Multiple outlets report that investigators are working near the town to collect samples and test for the possible presence of the rat-borne virus in an area that was previously considered unaffected. The investigation follows a cruise voyage that set sail last month, during which cases of the deadly hantavirus were reported. Officials aim to identify where exposure may have occurred and how the outbreak originated by examining whether rodents in the Ushuaia region carry the virus. Media accounts describe the trapping of hundreds of rats, with the work carried out on Tuesday. The activities are framed as a search for epidemiological clues rather than a treatment effort, focusing on detecting hantavirus in local wildlife. Authorities are expected to use the findings to clarify the outbreak’s origins and whether the virus is present in the broader region surrounding Ushuaia.