85 quarantined in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine judge has ordered 85 residents of a remote Patagonian town to stay in their homes for at least 30 days to help halt an outbreak of hantavirus in which nine people have died.

Thursday’s order affects people in Epuyen who have been in contact with people who tested positive for the virus. Some people in the town of 3,000 had resisted calls for voluntary isolation.

Town officials also have suspended gatherings, including funerals.

At least 26 people in the region have fallen ill from hantavirus since early December.