Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a serious, often deadly, respiratory disease that has been found mostly in rural areas of the western United States. The disease is caused by a hantavirus that is carried by rodents and passed on to humans through infected rodent urine, saliva, and droppings.

The deer mouse is the primary carrier of the virus that causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This type of rodent is found throughout the United States, except in the Southeast and East Coast. In the Southeast, the cotton rat is known to carry hantavirus.

A deer mouse is 4-9 inches long from head to tip of tail. It is pale gray to reddish brown and has white fur on its belly, feet, and underside of the tail. It has oversized ears. A mouse nest (burrow) is usually a pile of material under which the mouse lives. This pile can contain many different materials, such as twigs, insulation, styrofoam and grass.

Hantavirus is spread from wild rodents to people. The virus, which is found in rodent urine, saliva, and droppings 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 your mouth or nose after handling contaminated materials. A rodent's bite can also spread the virus. Hantavirus is not spread from person to person. You cannot become infected by being near a person who has hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The virus, which is able to survive in the environment (for example, in contaminated dirt and dust), can be killed by most household disinfectants, such as bleach and alcohol.

Symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome usually appear within 2 weeks of infection but can appear as early as 3 days to and as late as 6 weeks after infection. First symptoms are general and flu-like. They can include: fever (101-104 F), headache, abdominal, joint and lower back pain. Sometimes nausea and vomiting also occur. The primary symptom of this disease is difficulty in breathing, which is caused by fluid build-up in the lungs and quickly progresses to an inability to breathe.

If any combination of the symptoms described above, especially difficulty in breathing, appear after direct or indirect exposure to rodents, contact your doctor or local public health office (i.e. health district/department) immediately and be sure to mention your exposure to rodents.

No cure or vaccine is yet available for hantavirus infection. After infection, the sooner medical treatment is sought, the better chance of recovery.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a rare disease, and most tourists are not at increased risk for hantavirus infection. However, visitors to rural areas and nature resorts, campers, hikers, and others who take part in activities outdoors can become exposed to rodent urine, saliva, and droppings and become infected with hantavirus. If your activities take you to areas where you may become exposed to rodent and their urine, saliva, or droppings, take the precautions listed in this sheet to prevent being exposed to hantavirus.

Yes. Travel to and within all areas where hantavirus infection has been reported is safe. Nevertheless, if you camp or hike in an area inhabited by rodents, you have a small risk of being exposed to infected rodents and becoming infected with hantavirus.

You can contact the Klickitat County Health Department by phone at 509-773-4565 (Goldendale) or 509-493-1558 (White Salmon) or by E-mail. You can also contact the Washington State Department of Health at 360-236-3362 or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at 1-800-532-9929.