People at Risk for Hantavirus Infection Anyone who comes into contact with rodents that carry hantavirus is at risk of
The risk of acquiring hantavirus is extremely rare, even among people who are consistently exposed to mice and other rodents. The majority of exposures (70%) occur around the home. Hantavirus poses no significant health risk to WSU employees provided that simple precautions are followed.
Transmission. Cases of human hantavirus infection usually occur in rural areas (forests, fields, farms, etc.), where rodents hosting the virus may be found. However, transmission may also occur in urban areas. The virus is contracted through the inhalation of rodent droppings (urine and feces) and saliva.
The majority of Hantavirus infections occur in males and in individuals between the ages of 20-40 4. Trappers, hunters, forestry workers, farmers, and military personnel have a higher risk of contracting the disease 2 4. HOST RANGE: Humans, and several species of rodents (voles, mice, rats) 3 6.
Bites and direct contact through broken skin can also cause an infection. Approximately 5 percent of common house mice carry the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, but even other domesticated rodents, such as hamsters, can become carriers due to being infected by wild mice.
Hantavirus: Once thought to be rare this disease has been identified in rodents across Australia.
Although a rare occurrence, old mouse droppings may still contain traces of virus hantavirus. However, you should still exercise caution when cleaning or handling an infestation area.
Anyone who comes into contact with rodents that carry hantavirus is at risk of HPS. Rodent infestation in and around the home remains the primary risk for hantavirus exposure. Even healthy individuals are at risk for HPS infection if exposed to the virus.
The signs and symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can worsen suddenly and may quickly become life-threatening. If you have flu-like symptoms that progressively worsen over a few days, see your health care provider. Get immediate medical care if you have trouble breathing.
A person may be exposed to hantavirus by breathing contaminated dust after disturbing or cleaning rodent droppings or nests, or by living or working in rodent-infested settings. Typically one to five cases are reported each year and about one out of three people diagnosed with HPS have died.
Early symptoms, such as fever, dry cough, body aches, headaches, diarrhea and abdominal pain, are similar to many other viral illnesses. This may prevent an HPS diagnosis before the illness progresses.
Only some kinds of mice and rats can give people hantaviruses that can cause HPS. In North America, they are the deer mouse, the white-footed mouse, the rice rat, and the cotton rat. However, not every deer mouse, white-footed mouse, rice rat, or cotton rat carries a hantavirus.
House mice do not carry hantavirus. Other wild mice, like deer mice, can vector hantavirus, but are most often found in rural areas, the desert, and mountains and rarely invade inhabited human homes.
Anyone who comes into contact with infected rodent droppings, urine, saliva, nesting materials, or particles from these, can get hantavirus disease. Exposure to poorly ventilated areas with active rodent infestations in households, is the strongest risk factor for infection.
There is no specific treatment or cure for hantavirus infection. Treatment of patients with HPS remains supportive in nature. Patients should receive appropriate, broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy while awaiting confirmation of a diagnosis of HPS.
People who are ill with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and do not get help quickly may die. Those that survive recover quickly, though full recovery often takes several months.
Hantavirus infection can have no symptoms or cause mild to severe illness. Fever is the most common symptom in all three types of disease and lasts about 3-7 days. Other symptoms differ between the three types of disease.
There is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for hantavirus infection. However, we do know that if infected individuals are recognized early and receive medical care in an intensive care unit, they may do better.
Approximately 12 percent of deer mice carry hantavirus. The deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is the primary reservoir for Sin Nombre Virus, the strain of hantavirus responsible for the human cases in Yosemite National Park, and most human cases in the United States.
However, the virus is shed continuously from them: into the droppings and urine they leave around the room, and into their saliva, which dries on anything they have chewed, such as nesting material. Out in the environment like this, the virus can live for several days.
Do not use a vacuum or a high-pressure sprayer on rodent urine, droppings, or contaminated surfaces until they have been disinfected. Spray materials with a disinfectant until fully soaked and let sit for 5 minutes or according to label instructions.
The hantavirus is destroyed by detergents and readily available disinfectants such as diluted household bleach or products containing phenol (e.g., Lysol®). Choose an agent that is compatible with the item, object or area to be cleaned and disinfected.
The odds of only having one mouse are minuscule. This is mostly because mice breed at a phenomenal rate. Female mice give birth to a litter of 5-15 mice. What's more, they do this 5-10 times a year. This means the mice population can increase at an exponential rate and mouse proofing is essential.
Symptoms: Fever, vomiting, headache, muscle pain, joint pain or swelling, rash. Treatment: Seek medical assistance immediately, as antibiotics or different treatment needs to be prescribed. The disease has been known to lead to serious consequences if untreated, such as internal organs' infections.
Native Australian rodents (for example Hopping Mice) pose little or no threat to public health and should be left alone as they are protected species. However introduced rodents may infest residential and agricultural areas and carry disease.