With the return of summer, state health officials again are warning Coloradans in rural parts of the state to avoid hantavirus exposure while cleaning cabins, buildings, sheds and barns that may have been closed up for winter.
Hantavirus is a serious respiratory disease carried by deer mice that are common to rural areas throughout the state. The virus can infect humans who inhale dirt and dust contaminated with deer mice urine and feces, when working in or cleaning out rodent-infested structures.
Two more hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases in the state were confirmed last week, according to John Pape, a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist who specializes in animal-related diseases. "We are up to four reported cases in 2008, including one fatality," he said.
The two recent cases occurred in Dolores and Delta counties on the Western Slope. Both patients were hospitalized but are recovering. Local health officials, in coordination with the department, are conducting investigations into how each individual was exposed to the disease.
Two other cases were reported earlier this year, one in Kiowa County in February and the other in Fremont County in early May. The person from Kiowa County did not survive.
Pape urged people to be particularly careful where there are mouse droppings and evidence that mice have been in and around the buildings or nearby wood or junk piles. A large, rapid increase in the number of mice around a home often precedes a human Hantavirus case and should be considered a red flag.
Property owners should rodent proof buildings by plugging holes or other mouse entry ways, and conduct year-round rodent control, using traps or poisons, or hire a professional exterminator. You should use special precautions when cleaning rodent infested structures; open doors or windows to provide good ventilation for 30 to 60 minutes before cleaning out structures; avoid stirring up dust by watering down areas of mouse infestation with a mixture of bleach and water. If live mice still are occupying a structure, rodent control should be done before extensive cleaning efforts. The structures should be thoroughly ventilated and any accumulation of dust, dirt and mouse droppings should be sprayed with a mixture of bleach and water before any cleaning begins.
Hantavirus, which is deadly in nearly half of the cases, begins with high fever, severe body aches, headache and vomiting. The onset of these symptoms begins from one week to six weeks after exposure.
Initially, there are no respiratory symptoms present. However, within one to five days, the illness quickly progresses to respiratory distress, including a dry cough and difficulty breathing caused by the lungs filling with fluid.
Deer mice are brown on top and white underneath. They have large ears relative to their head size. House mice on the other hand are all gray and have small ears. These small, gray house mice commonly found in urban areas do not carry the disease.
A photograph of a deer mouse can be viewed and downloaded at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/dc/zoonosis/hanta/index.html.
Hantavirus is a serious respiratory disease carried by deer mice that are common to rural areas throughout the state. The virus can infect humans who inhale dirt and dust contaminated with deer mice urine and feces, when working in or cleaning out rodent-infested structures.
Two more hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases in the state were confirmed last week, according to John Pape, a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist who specializes in animal-related diseases. "We are up to four reported cases in 2008, including one fatality," he said.
The two recent cases occurred in Dolores and Delta counties on the Western Slope. Both patients were hospitalized but are recovering. Local health officials, in coordination with the department, are conducting investigations into how each individual was exposed to the disease.
Two other cases were reported earlier this year, one in Kiowa County in February and the other in Fremont County in early May. The person from Kiowa County did not survive.
Pape urged people to be particularly careful where there are mouse droppings and evidence that mice have been in and around the buildings or nearby wood or junk piles. A large, rapid increase in the number of mice around a home often precedes a human Hantavirus case and should be considered a red flag.
Property owners should rodent proof buildings by plugging holes or other mouse entry ways, and conduct year-round rodent control, using traps or poisons, or hire a professional exterminator. You should use special precautions when cleaning rodent infested structures; open doors or windows to provide good ventilation for 30 to 60 minutes before cleaning out structures; avoid stirring up dust by watering down areas of mouse infestation with a mixture of bleach and water. If live mice still are occupying a structure, rodent control should be done before extensive cleaning efforts. The structures should be thoroughly ventilated and any accumulation of dust, dirt and mouse droppings should be sprayed with a mixture of bleach and water before any cleaning begins.
Hantavirus, which is deadly in nearly half of the cases, begins with high fever, severe body aches, headache and vomiting. The onset of these symptoms begins from one week to six weeks after exposure.
Initially, there are no respiratory symptoms present. However, within one to five days, the illness quickly progresses to respiratory distress, including a dry cough and difficulty breathing caused by the lungs filling with fluid.
Deer mice are brown on top and white underneath. They have large ears relative to their head size. House mice on the other hand are all gray and have small ears. These small, gray house mice commonly found in urban areas do not carry the disease.
A photograph of a deer mouse can be viewed and downloaded at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/dc/zoonosis/hanta/index.html.