STAFF REPORT

ALAMOSA — On Wednesday Alamosa County Public Health Department Director Julie Geiser confirmed that a death has been associated with hantavirus. To protect confidentiality, the health department was unable to disclose the identity of the deceased adult.

The laboratory at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and a reference laboratory in New Mexico have confirmed that the deceased was exposed to the virus.

This event occurred earlier in the year than past confirmed cases have, so the health department is asking persons to take precautions even now when it is so cold.

In the San Luis Valley, hantavirus is carried by the deer mouse. Other rodents have been found to be infected, but these do not occur in these area. Deer mice have tawny backs, white bellies, big eyes and big ears. Not all deer mice have the virus, but it is not possible to tell if a mouse has the virus just by looking at it. Testing has shown that typically 10-15 percent of deer mice are infected. Household pets (including rodents) do not get sick from the virus. The virus is not spread by insects or from person to person.

Hantavirus can be found in the urine, saliva, and droppings of infected mice. People are infected by breathing in the virus when stirring up dust from mouse nests or droppings, or when handling dead mice. Residents are at some risk for hantavirus when cleaning barns, outbuildings, sheds, and clearing wood piles, underbrush, and during planting and gardening. People who go into crawl spaces below homes, into attics, or other closed spaces with rodent droppings are also at risk.

Symptoms of hantavirus

Symptoms usually start 1-6 weeks after exposure to infected droppings. Early symptoms of hantavirus are like the flu, with fever, chills, headache, and severe muscle pains, often in the lower back and legs. Stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and/or fatigue can also occur. Cough is a late sign of hantavirus. Sore throat, runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing or rashes would suggest that the illness is probably due to some other cause.

Within 1-5 days after symptoms start, a dry cough and difficulty breathing develop: this is the result of fluid building up in the lungs. From this point on the illness can progress very rapidly to critical problems like respiratory failure, and even death.

If within six weeks of exposure to deer mice or their droppings, a resident develops a fever, headache and severe muscle pain, followed in a few days with difficulty breathing, that person should seek medical care immediately.

Reduce risk of hantavirus

• Plug all holes (dime-sized or larger) in walls and around pipes and vents, using steel wool, lathe, or metal sheeting. Repair window screens and make sure weather-stripping under doors is tight (including pet doors).

• Store pet food and birdseed in lidded containers. Make sure cereal, crackers, and other human food is stored in a securely closing cabinet. Keep garbage in tightly-covered cans.

• Store hay, wood and equipment above ground at least 100 feet from the house. Remove old cars, junk and brush piles from the yard. Use traps baited with food like peanut butter to remove rodents. Multi-catch traps are a good choice for outbuildings or cabins not checked daily.

• Open doors and windows and allow a room to air out for 30 minutes before going inside. Wear rubber gloves and spray droppings, nests and carcasses with a bleach and water solution (1 1/2 cups bleach per 1 gallon water, or 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, mixed that day.) Let soak for 5-10 minutes before cleaning up with a mop, sponge or wet-vacuum. DO NOT SWEEP OR DRY-VACUUM MOUSE DROPPINGS. If very infested, use a respirator mask with a HEPA filter (N-100 rating) that seals tightly to the face. These are available at most hardware stores.

• After disinfecting, place mouse carcass, nests, and cleaning materials into a plastic bag. Tie the bag shut, and put it in an outdoor trashcan.

Please remember that hantavirus is still a very real threat in the San Luis Valley. Residents may see rodents in their houses, vehicles, tool sheds, barns, etc. Take care when opening outbuildings, or when finding mouse droppings and mice around the house.

For further information, contact Alamosa County Public Health at 589-6639 or log onto cdphe.state.co.us, and locate “hantavirus pulmonary syndrome” under the “Health A to Z” topics index.