Andes virus (ANDV) is the only hantavirus transmitted between humans through close contact. We detected the genome and proteins of ANDV in breast milk cells from an infected mother in Chile who transmitted the virus to her child, suggesting gastrointestinal infection through breast milk as a route of ANDV person-to-person transmission.
Keywords: Andes virus; Chile; breast-feeding; gastrointestinal tract; hantavirus; neonatal death; transmission; viruses.