South America
South America is important because Andes virus and other New World hantaviruses can cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Public health interpretation should stay tied to WHO, PAHO, and national agencies.
PAHO/WHO issued a December 2025 alert after increases in endemic countries of the Americas, especially the Southern Cone.
WHO describes Andes virus as the currently known hantavirus with documented limited person-to-person transmission among close contacts.
Primary infection risk remains linked to rodent exposure, especially contaminated urine, droppings, or saliva.
PAHO's alert names Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay as Southern Cone countries and emphasizes surveillance, diagnosis, clinical management, and environmental or occupational risk reduction.
Regional alerts are not a substitute for country-level public health data.
Limited person-to-person transmission has been documented for Andes virus in close and prolonged contact settings. That caveat should not be generalized to all hantaviruses or used to imply casual spread.
Source transparency
Links open official public health or agency-published source material used for the summaries on this page.
Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization
Americas regional alert, Southern Cone context, and surveillance strengthening recommendations.
Regional aggregate and alert language; country public health agencies remain authoritative for national counts.
World Health Organization
Global disease overview, syndromes, and Andes virus human-to-human transmission caveat.
Global overview; local agencies provide country-specific surveillance.
World Health Organization
Official international notice for the 2026 cruise-associated Andes virus cluster.
Event-specific notice; not global live surveillance.