The origin of the MV Hondius Andes outbreak

Andes virus outbreak genomes from the MV Hondius cruise ship cluster within a southern Chile–Argentine Andean Patagonia lineage, with the Tolten-Lanco area identified as the most likely origin.

• Why it matters: The outbreak’s infection source was unclear because the index case traveled through hantavirus-endemic regions of Chile and Argentina before symptoms, leaving the geographic origin unresolved.
• What they did: We generated ANDV genomes from human cases and rodent reservoirs and performed phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses, integrating reconstructions across three segments with the index case’s travel itinerary.
• The result: Phylogeographic reconstructions indicate Tolten-Lanco as the most likely origin, with two candidate locations accounting for >98% posterior support, but the index case visited 62–66 days before symptom onset, beyond the 7–42 day incubation period.

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