Wow - someone actually died of hantavirus.

pookdolie

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In our hobby, you get warned about this and hear about it, what with all the droppings and mouse urine we run across...

Two may have contracted hantavirus while visiting Yosemite

By Phil Gast, CNN
updated 7:25 PM EDT, Fri August 17, 2012

(CNN) -- Two Californians, one of whom died, may have been exposed to mice droppings or urine that contained hantavirus while vacationing at Yosemite National Park, health officials said Thursday.

The visitors contracted hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, a rare but often fatal lung disease.

The two had stayed at the popular Curry Village in mid-June, according to the California Department of Public Health.

An unidentified 37-year-old man from the San Francisco Bay area died in late July, said Dr. Vicki Kramer, chief of the department's vector-borne disease section.

A Southern California woman in her 40s survived and is recovering, Kramer told CNN.

The two stayed in separate locations at the village, which contains about 400 canvas tent and wooden cabins.

"They are very sparse but comfortable," Yosemite ranger and spokesman Scott Gediman said of the tent cabins where the man and woman stayed.

Officials have focused on deer mice, common in the high-elevation eastern Sierra Nevada region. The mice are gray or brown on top, with white bellies. Their ears have no fur.

"Rodents can infest a whole range of these structures," Kramer said. "Deer mice can get in a hole one-quarter inch in diameter."

In the United States, the carriers of hantavirus are deer mice, cotton rats, rice rats and white-footed mice, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can be present in the rodents' urine, droppings and saliva, and is spread to people when they breathe in air contaminated with the virus, the CDC says.

The virus is not communicable from person to person.

Rodent control is the primary strategy for preventing the hantavirus syndrome, according to the CDC.

California's health department has worked with Yosemite National Park for years to reduce the risks to visitors, Kramer said. The agency and park public health officers routinely conduct rodent surveillance, and the park inspects buildings and facilities, it said.

The battle begins with workers routinely disinfecting floors and removing mouse droppings.

Once park officials learned of the two cases, all 400 camp structures were thoroughly cleaned, Gediman said Thursday.

Yosemite National Park has increased routine measures to reduce the hantavirus risk, according to officials.

"You cannot eliminate all the mice," Kramer said. "There are a lot of people and snacks that people bring into their tents or cabins."

Gediman said officials consider Curry Village safe and guests have not canceled lodging reservations in the busiest month of the year at Yosemite.

Officials urge people to clean areas of rodent infestation with caution.

It's best not to vacuum or sweep, because that can push hantavirus particles into the air, where they can enter the lungs.

Rather, people should wear gloves and use bleach where they see mouse droppings. They should let the bleach sit for 15 minutes before using a mop or sponge to clean up.

Opening shuttered areas to air and sunlight also is suggested.

The two recent hantavirus cases bring the 2012 total in California to four. About one-third of the 60 cases reported in the state since 1993 have been fatal, the department said. Yosemite National Park saw one hantavirus case each in 2000 and 2010.

There is no specific treatment for hantavirus infection, according to the CDC, but the earlier the patient is brought to intensive care, the better.

Diagnosis is difficult, because early symptoms of fever, muscle aches and fatigue often are confused with the flu.

"However, if the individual is experiencing fever and fatigue, and has a history of potential rural rodent exposure, together with shortness of breath, (that) would be strongly suggestive of HPS," the CDC says.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/16/health/california-hantavirus/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
 
My wife's ~25 yr old cousin died 2 years ago in CA of what was presumed to be Hanta. Worked garbage hauling, then took a single day one time job cleaning up some house or site and had many rats and 2 days later couldn't breath and 1 day later died in hospital.

Ever since I've been a lot more careful in what I buy -- if any indication, I'm not even touching it, and for those that seem good, I still use chemical protection mask (charcoal filters) when sanding down insides before painting to seal before they ever come in the house.
 
I just read today that 90% of the mosquitos that were tested in northern IL have the West Nile virus.
 
I just read today that 90% of the mosquitos that were tested in northern IL have the West Nile virus.

Come at me, bro.

Mosquito-Phobia-22526.jpg
 
Glad I have my Ozone generator...Blast a shock treatment inside every new game before getting into my room lol
 
Here's more FUN FACTS for you! Most info was from the CDCs.

Hantavirus
132+ deaths in the USA
20-56% death rate

Ebola
Over 1500 deaths
50 - 90+% death rate

West Nile virus
43 deaths in 2011 in the USA

Mad Cow Disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)
Over 4000 human deaths since 1995
(Just had a juice Rib-eye for dinner tonight!)

Steve
 
I try to be very careful with cleaning cabs with any mouse/rat crap in them. I wonder if the virus can survive for a long time or eventually won't be hazardous. Who knows how old some of the crap is in the games we buy.
 
I try to be very careful with cleaning cabs with any mouse/rat crap in them. I wonder if the virus can survive for a long time or eventually won't be hazardous. Who knows how old some of the crap is in the games we buy.

"How long can hantavirus remain infectious in the environment?
The length of time hantaviruses can remain infectious in the environment is variable and depends on environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, whether the virus is indoors or outdoors or exposed to the sun, and even on the rodent's diet (which would affect the chemistry of its urine). Viability for 2 or 3 days has been shown at normal room temperature. Exposure to sunlight will decrease the time of viability, and freezing temperatures will actually increase the time that the virus remains viable. Since the survival of infectious virus is measured in terms of hours or days, only active infestations of infected rodents result in conditions that are likely to lead to human hantavirus infection."


http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/noframes/faq.htm

Steve
 
When I brought home my Paperboy, there were 3 dead deer mice in the bottom cubby hole in the front. I didnt see it until I got the machine home and wondered where the dog kibble on my floor came from, then soon realized they made a nice nest with food in the bottom. Oh man I freaked the fuck out.
 
I just read today that 90% of the mosquitos that were tested in northern IL have the West Nile virus.

I'm just getting over West Nile from back in the beginning of June.......It was about four weeks of pure hell....and I still do not feel totally "good".

Edward
 
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