by Arizona public health officials are warning that hantavirus, a virus that spreads from rodents to humans, is contributing to an increase in potentially fatal lung syndrome. Seven cases and three deaths have been confirmed in the past six months, according to a recent health alert.
Most hantavirus cases are reported in the Western and Southwestern United States. Most states, including California, report one to four cases per year. Two people in California have been infected with hantavirus this year.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine to protect against the infection.
Arizona has one of the highest total number of reported hantavirus infections in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
From 2016-2022, there were 11 hantavirus cases in Arizona — four in 2016, two in 2017, four in 2020 and one in 2022, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“Hantavirus is a rare but important cause of serious, even fatal, respiratory infection,” said Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital on Long Island, New York.
“It is transmitted by various rodents, especially the deer mouse, and it can cause a mild disease, but it causes fatal illness in a significant percentage of people who get this illness,” he said.
In addition, San Diego County is reporting higher activity in rodents infected with hantavirus this year, with 17 cases of western harvest mice infected with hantavirus. Overall, hantavirus activity can fluctuate from year to year and does not appear to be more than normal in the U.S. this year, the California Department of Public Health said.
Why are Arizona cases on the rise?
The CDC reported 850 cases from 1993 to 2021, or about 30 cases a year.
Trish Lees, public information officer at Coconino County Health and Human Services, said the increase in Arizona cases may be due to changes in rodent populations, which can fluctuate seasonally and annually.
Although cases can occur at any time, they occur more during the summer due to increased rodent activity and people coming into contact with rodents more often, as they are outside more and going into enclosed spaces like a shed or barn, Lees said.
“Weather can influence hantavirus occurrence in complex ways – for example, heavy spring rains could increase food resources for deer mice which would increase the rodent population – but no association between extreme heat and activity has been shown hantavirus increased,” the California department of public health said.
Experts are speculating that climate change, such as the extreme heat waves that are sweeping the county, may be partly to blame.
Dr. Camilo Mora, a professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, says people aren’t the only ones who seek shelter when it’s wet or hot outside. Other species also seek respite from inclement weather – particularly mammal-carrying mammals.
His previous research found that climate change could lead to the advancement of more than half of the infectious diseases that affect humans.
“Many species of disease-borne diseases are on the move with climate change – so although the role of climate change is difficult to conclude in any case, climate change has all the characteristics to cause outbreaks of vector-borne diseases to cause,” he said.
Dr. Scott Roberts, associate medical director of infection prevention at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, said that fluctuating environmental conditions can lead to changes in animal populations — so increases in rodent populations are bound to increase. which hantavirus spreads the risk of happening. human exposure.
Hot weather may also worsen the illness after people become infected due to dehydration or other factors, Glatt said.
About 94% of hantavirus infections occur west of the Mississippi River, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of hantavirus
Particles containing hantavirus enter the air when urine, saliva or antlers are ingested from deer mice, causing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).
The syndrome was first identified in 1993 after the mysterious illness of infected members of the Navajo tribe living on the border of New Mexico and Arizona, according to a previous report. About 80% of those infected died at the time.
Symptoms can appear from one to eight weeks after exposure to an infected rodent.
The illness is divided into two stages.
In the early stage of the illness, people may suddenly start complaining of non-specific symptoms:
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Fever.
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Tiredness.
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Muscle pain – especially in thighs, back and shoulders.
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Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
If left untreated, the illness can become more serious, causing infections in the lungs where fluid “leaks” through blood vessels, causing fluid to fill in the respiratory tract, causing shortness of breath, tightness chest and cough, according to the American. Lung Association.
About 38% of people who develop lung symptoms may die from the disease.
How to prevent hantavirus
“The best way to prevent infection with this illness is to carefully disinfect and clean any waste products from the rodents and not come into contact with them,” Glatt said.
The Wyoming Department of Health warns to be careful during spring cleaning. The department has not seen any unusual activity so far this year among its residents in the state, a public information officer confirmed.
Opening or cleaning cabins, sheds, barns or storage buildings in rural areas that are closed for the winter and infested with deer mice can increase the risk, experts say.
In 2012, at least 10 people were sickened and three died during an outbreak of hantavirus among overnight visitors who stayed in tented cabins in Yosemite National Park.
When entering an area that has been closed and unoccupied for a long time, be sure to ventilate the space for 30 minutes, the Wyoming Department of Health warns.
If the space is very dirty or full of mice, take extra care by wearing gloves, shoe covers, covers and N95 masks before cleaning.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
