Buenos Aires hantavirus outbreak prompts lawmakers to demand health ministry report

An outbreak of hantavirus in Buenos Aires province has resulted in seven deaths and at least 18 confirmed cases in 2026, surpassing the technical threshold for a breach and showing a non‑seasonal rise, especially in rural and peri‑urban areas. Deputies from the libertarian bloc La Libertad Avanza (LLA) submitted a formal request for information from Health Minister Nicolás Kreplak, seeking detailed data on confirmed, suspected and discarded cases, mortality figures, regional distribution and the evolution of the epidemiological situation. They also asked for the province’s surveillance, detection, diagnosis, treatment and follow‑up protocols, as well as details of rodent‑control and environmental‑sanitation measures.

The legislators criticised Kreplak’s public comments that linked the local hantavirus situation to an international strain and to Argentina’s departure from the World Health Organization, and they called for his interpellation alongside IOMA head Homero Giles over alleged neglect of the provincial health system. The demand was directed at the administration of Governor Axel Kicillof, urging clarification of prevention campaigns and emergency response capacity.