Dhaka, Dec. 25 -- You could say nowhere on the planet has been spared, and it would be accurate. At the fag end of the outgoing annum, its predominant motif extended to Antarctica, the icy, isolated continent literally at the end of the earth. On December 22, it reportedly recorded its first cases. Thirty-six people have been infected at a Chilean research base, including 26 members of the Chilean army and 10 maintenance workers.

Spanish-language media first reported the outbreak at the General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme research base, one of 13 maintained by the Chileans in Antarctica. The individuals who tested positive have since been evacuated to the city of Punta Arenas in Chile, where they are reported to be under isolation and in...