Hantavirus

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a lung disease caused by a virus carried by rodents, especially deer mice.

What Is Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HAN-ta-vi-rus PUL-mo-nar-ee SIN-drome), or HPS for short, is an uncommon but deadly lung disease. It is caused by a type of virus known as hantavirus, which is carried by rodents ^* , especially deer mice.

The disease was first identified in 1993, when an outbreak occurred in the geographic area shared by New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, known as the Four Corners. Several healthy young adults there suddenly came down with serious breathing problems. About half soon died. Scientists traced the mystery illness to the Sin Nombre virus, a type of hantavirus carried by deer mice. It turns out that there were large numbers of deer mice in the Four Corners area that year due to heavy spring rains.

Since 1993, HPS has been found in more than half of states in the United States, especially in the west. Over 200 cases of HPS had been reported in the United States by mid-1999.

How Do People Catch HPS?

Certain rodents shed hantavirus in their urine, droppings, and saliva. These rodents include deer mice, cotton rats, rice rats, and white-footed mice, but not common house mice. When the rodent urine, droppings, or nesting materials are stirred up, tiny droplets of virus can get into the air, where people can breathe them.

Anyone of any age or sex can catch HPS. Activities that put people at risk include opening cabins and sheds that have been closed for the winter, cleaning homes and barns, using trail shelters when hiking and camping, and working in crawl spaces under buildings.

What Happens When People Get HPS?

Symptoms

The first symptoms of HPS show up one to five weeks after a person comes into contact with hantavirus. They include tiredness, fever, and muscle aches. People may have headache, dizziness, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach pain. Four to 10 days later, they start coughing and become short of breath as the lungs fill with fluid.

Diagnosis

A blood test can quickly show if someone is infected with hantavirus. However, similar symptoms also occur with more common diseases. For this reason, doctors might not suspect HPS unless they know of an outbreak in the area.

Treatment

People with HPS need intensive medical care. The sooner they get help, the better. In the hospital, people receive oxygen therapy to help them breathe more easily. The hospital staff also keeps a close watch for problems that may arise with fluid levels and blood pressure, so that such problems can be treated promptly.

Preventing HPS

The best way to prevent HPS is to make sure that homes, workplaces, and campsites are not attractive to rodents. Guidelines include:

• Keeping a clean home where food is not easy for rodents to find.
• Putting a tight-fitting lid on the garbage can.
• Throwing away uneaten pet food at the end of each day.
• Sealing any entry holes in the walls.
• Clearing brush and junk from around the base of the house to get rid of nesting materials.
• Avoiding contact with rodents when camping or hiking.
• Not disturbing or camping near rodent burrows.