Hantavirus kills girl on Pine Ridge reservation

Jacie Estes

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A wake was held Monday for the first person on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to die from hantavirus, while Ogala Sioux officials met to discuss what could be done to educate tribal members about the disease spread by rodents.

Oglala Sioux President John Yellow Bird Steele said in a news release that hantavirus was confirmed last week as the cause of the girl's death. People can get hantavirus from contact with rodents or their waste, and it can eventually lead to respiratory failure.


http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/apArticle/id/D9V6JI380/

Prayers offered to her family, she was so young.
 
Hantavirus is a potentially deadly virus carried by rodents and passed to humans when rodent urine, droppings or nesting materials are disturbed, sending droplets of the virus into the air. The droplets are then breathed into the lungs.

In rare cases, people can be infected by being bitten by an infected rodent. Researchers also believe people can also become sick if they eat food contaminated by saliva or urine from an infected rodent. It cannot be transmitted between persons, according to the CDC.


http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/sh...cle_14b7dee8-01aa-51b0-86bb-10e6bc03dded.html
 
This really isn't a good story for me to read this morning. My mom and I just spent three days cleaning out my garage that had become rodent infested (house mice). Is there anyway to prevent contracting this disease (other than never coming into contact with rodents)?
 
This really isn't a good story for me to read this morning. My mom and I just spent three days cleaning out my garage that had become rodent infested (house mice). Is there anyway to prevent contracting this disease (other than never coming into contact with rodents)?

I would think the primary preventative method would be to wear a mask while cleaning. After the fact, monitoring for symptoms

SYMPTOMS:

Due to the small number of HPS cases, the "incubation time" is not positively known. However, on the basis of limited information, it appears that symptoms may develop between 1 and 5 weeks after exposure to fresh urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents.

Early Symptoms


Early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups—thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders. These symptoms are universal.

There may also be headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. About half of all HPS patients experience these symptoms.

Late Symptoms


Four to 10 days after the initial phase of illness, the late symptoms of HPS appear. These include coughing and shortness of breath, with the sensation of, as one survivor put it, a "...tight band around my chest and a pillow over my face" as the lungs fill with fluid.

http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hps/symptoms.html



Eliminate or minimize contact with rodents in your home, workplace, or campsite. If rodents don't find that where you are is a good place for them to be, then you're less likely to come into contact with them. Seal up holes and gaps in your home or garage. Place traps in and around your home to decrease rodent infestation. Clean up any easy-to-get food

http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hps/prevention.html

http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/index.html

Treating HPS

Previous observations of patients that develop HPS from New World Hantaviruses recover completely. No chronic infection has been detected in humans. Some patients have experienced longer than expected recovery times, but the virus has not been shown to leave lasting effects on the patient.


There is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for hantavirus infection. However, we do know that if infected individuals are recognized early and receive medical care in an intensive care unit, they may do better. In intensive care, patients are intubated and given oxygen therapy to help them through the period of severe respiratory distress.

The earlier the patient is brought in to intensive care, the better. If a patient is experiencing full distress, it is less likely the treatment will be effective

http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hps/diagnosis.html
 
Thank you Jacie. I'm going to pass this along to my mom. I did google house mice and the virus and the article said that common house mice do not carry the virus. That makes me feel a little better.
 
Two Utahns, one in Millard County and another in Salt Lake County, have died from hantavirus exposure, say state health officials.

Activities that can put people at risk include:

• Improperly cleaning up mouse and rat urine, droppings and nests.

• Cleaning a shed or cabin that has been closed for some time.

• Working in areas where mice and rats may live, such as barns.



http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54245009-78/hantavirus-bleach-cleaning-droppings.html.csp
 
My prayers to the community.
 
This thing seems to go in cycles... As a Certified Hypochondriac ;) I remember first hearing about this in the early 90s from a girlfriend who at the time lived on the rez in NM, and just her telling me about it scared the carp outta me (I was in the SW at the time as well, but not in NM). Still does. It seemed to go away for a while, but then cases would crop up every few years, and then go quiet again.

I've never been able to properly clean a garage, shed, or basement ever since first hearing about it :blushing:

Hoping this blows over quickly for the communities affected - wishing peace for the poor little one who died, and her loved ones :rose:

Edit- just saw that the Utahns actually died... I'd read too quickly and thought they were just still sick - peace to them as well. :rose: :(
 
This totally creeps me out. I remember when my cousin's in-laws were exposed in Colorado several years ago. The mom was pregnant so couldn't receive any of the preventive treatment that her husband and kids got. The husband and kids had to be isolated in one place and the mom all by herself in a separate place for something like 10 days. Luckily none of them got it, but it was terrifying for awhile.

RIP to the poor people who have died. I hope no one else gets it!
 
Hantavirus scares me. I am so sorry for all involved.

It is vital to wear a mask and clean your own self (and clothing) thoroughly after cleaning out areas which may house mice. Wear things you don't mind bleaching out (e.g. very old jeans) and reduce risk by wearing gloves and long sleeve shirts. Dampen everything with a combo of bleach and water to reduce dust particles, and throw away all cleaning supplies after use (e.g. broom, rags). Wear bandanas and/or hats (again, something that can be bleached or thrown away) to prevent dust from getting into your hair. If you have long hair (like I do), braid it or restrain it, and tuck it down into your shirt so it doesn't flop around and be a giant dust collector.

God bless all those infected, and all their families. My prayers are with you.

Best-
Herding Cats
 
This really isn't a good story for me to read this morning. My mom and I just spent three days cleaning out my garage that had become rodent infested (house mice). Is there anyway to prevent contracting this disease (other than never coming into contact with rodents)?

They can be a pain in the butt and always want food & hugs and are cute as heck.
CATS.
Since we've had the cats, no rodents and if they do get one, I get it as a gift.
(lucky lucky me!)
 
Hantavirus scares me. I am so sorry for all involved.

It is vital to wear a mask and clean your own self (and clothing) thoroughly after cleaning out areas which may house mice. Wear things you don't mind bleaching out (e.g. very old jeans) and reduce risk by wearing gloves and long sleeve shirts. Dampen everything with a combo of bleach and water to reduce dust particles, and throw away all cleaning supplies after use (e.g. broom, rags). Wear bandanas and/or hats (again, something that can be bleached or thrown away) to prevent dust from getting into your hair. If you have long hair (like I do), braid it or restrain it, and tuck it down into your shirt so it doesn't flop around and be a giant dust collector.

God bless all those infected, and all their families. My prayers are with you.

Best-
Herding Cats


When I do the garages and outhouse, I want a csi suit!
It's amazing what those critters can make a nest of. I have squirrles in a tree that get my dryer gunk. Every so often, I see the old nest on the ground and know ther're starting a new one. So Ole ma does a blanket or two; lol

But yeah, that hantavirus is NOT a good thing for anybody. Very scary.

My cats should know how lucky they are! :)
 
I have two old cats but they're indoor cats. I have thought of putting them out in the garage for maybe an hour (that's probably all it would take for them to hunt them down) but I worry about them being bitten by the mouse.

It seems with the cleaning that we've done (still have about a third left) that the mice have moved out.

Thanks for the advice of what to wear as protection when cleaning. I know these aren't deer mice but it's probably a good idea to protect yourself with any type of cleaning that involves rodents.
 
Lizzy, rodents and spiders. Shudder. I got a spider caught in my hair once. It was not pretty...I was screaming and pulling at my hair; I could feel it crawling around, and I was freaking out. Thus came the whole braid and tuck routine. I will not go through that again.

And that had nothing to do with hantavirus.

Take all the precautions you can, because it doesn't matter if the mice have moved; if they were there, they've left droppings...and that's one of the things that hantavirus can live in.

Best-
Herding Cats
 
I have two old cats but they're indoor cats. I have thought of putting them out in the garage for maybe an hour (that's probably all it would take for them to hunt them down) but I worry about them being bitten by the mouse.

It seems with the cleaning that we've done (still have about a third left) that the mice have moved out.

Thanks for the advice of what to wear as protection when cleaning. I know these aren't deer mice but it's probably a good idea to protect yourself with any type of cleaning that involves rodents.

Use masks and gloves while cleaning. Also, anything that is not to be saved spray with the 1 gallon to 1 cup bleach solution, the things to be saved set them out in the sun and if possible spray them down. For smaller things that will be thrown away, buy a large roll of heavy black garbage bags and put stuff in there. That way the garbage men and others won't be infected.

At this point it is deer mice that are carriers but, as in the case of West Nile Virus, it went up through populations and spread, became more virulent.
 
OMG, I never knew this. I am right now freaking out. I know they carry germs but never knew you could die just from their droppings and urines. The reason I am so freaked out we have mice problem here at work and the owner will not do anything about it. During certain times mainly when it starts getting cooler we have the droppings and the urine on our desk. I keep clorox wipes on my desk and have to clean the desk everything daily.
I use to keep the kitchen and bathrooms clean here but we have so many pigs from out in the shop come in here till I am tired of cleaning behind them. I just dont even use the kitchen here any more.

I copied the information above and put in an email, I am going to send to my boss.
 
Lizzy, rodents and spiders. Shudder. I got a spider caught in my hair once. It was not pretty...I was screaming and pulling at my hair; I could feel it crawling around, and I was freaking out. Thus came the whole braid and tuck routine. I will not go through that again.

And that had nothing to do with hantavirus.

Take all the precautions you can, because it doesn't matter if the mice have moved; if they were there, they've left droppings...and that's one of the things that hantavirus can live in.

Best-
Herding Cats

I still have an indentation on my lower chin/neck area from a Brown Recluse Spider bite. We were in Canada, working on a DV project with Middle Eastern women who sought sanctuary in Canada, when I got bitten, had to wear a pink hospital type band on my wrist for a year, doctor told me it was in case I collapsed anywhere they would know how to treat me. Projectile vomiting/diarrhea are not fun.
 

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