EMS Corner
Hantavirus
 HantavirusPulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is carried by rodents, especially
the deer mouse. Symptoms of Hantavirus are generally flu-like: fever
(101-104F), headache, abdominal, joint and lower back pain, sometimes
nausea and vomiting. However, the primary symptom of this disease is
difficulty breathing, which is caused by fluid build-up in the lungs and
quickly progresses to an inability to breathe. HPS is not contagious from
person-to-person contact in the United States. Hantavirus is spread from
wild rodents to people. The virus, which is found in rodent urine, saliva
and feces gets in the air as mist from urine and saliva or dust from
feces. Breathing in the virus is the most common way of becoming infected;
however, you can also become infected by touching the mouth or nose after
handling contaminated materials. Prevention is the best strategy, it
simply means taking some very practical steps to minimize your contact
with rodents.
Tips for Preventing HPS
- Put on latex rubber gloves before cleaning up.
- Don’t stir up dust by sweeping or vacuuming up droppings, urine or
nesting materials.
- Instead, thoroughly wet contaminated areas with detergent or liquid
to deactivate the virus. A mixture of 1 and ½ cups of bleach in 1
gallon of water may be used in place of a commercial disinfectant.
- Once everything is wet, take up contaminated materials with a damp
towel then mop or sponge the area with disinfectant. Spray dead
rodents with disinfectant, then double bag along with all cleaning
material and bury or bum or throw out in appropriate waste disposal
system.
- Finally, disinfect gloves before taking them off. Disinfectant or
soap and water will work.
- After taking off the clean gloves, thoroughly wash hands with soap
and warm water.
When going into cabins or outbuildings that have been dosed for a while,
open them up and air out before cleaning.
A mask or similar mouth/nose cover should be used when working in areas
where rodents may have nested (old woodpiles, building materials, brush
piles, etc.) and when sweeping, raking or shoveling when dust may be
stirred up.
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