Hantavirus kills girl on Pine Ridge reservation

[Jacie Estes]

Here is CDC information about Hantavirus. While there is never good coming from the death of a child, disseminating information can be a way to prevent future infection.



Hantavirus

Infection with hantavirus can progress to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), which can be fatal. People become infected through contact with hantavirus-infected rodents or their urine and droppings. The Sin Nombre hantavirus, first recognized in 1993, is one of several New World hantaviruses circulating in the US. Old World hantaviruses, found in Asia, can cause Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS). Rodent control in and around the home remains the primary strategy for preventing hantavirus infection. All cases of Hantavirus infection are reported to and researched by the Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB) of the CDC.


http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/

 

[Quiche]

Seems like everyone, from coast to coast, had a mild winter last year-- I wonder if that has caused a "bloom" in this virus? Also, an increase in the mouse populations, I'd assume.

I once lived in a little cabin in the woods that had no running water, had an outhouse, etc.... I'd moved there on a bet! LOL So this little place was just a wood shack, really, but I brought wall to wall carpet, some foil back insulation, my bookcases, dresser, leather couch and reading chair, my double bed up on a platform surrounded by windows with the most amazing redwood forest views! I had a wood stove for cooking (making coffee and canned soup, lol) and oil lamps for lighting. All was great and cozy until the mice found me. :what:

Those little suckers took over (and I am TERRIFIED of mice)! And these weren't the city housemouse type, they were the cute ones, the deer mice, that aren't scared or put off by a human being enter their realm. They just stared me down then continued on the leaping way! It got so I would knock on my own door announcing to the mice that I was home. Yelling, stomping, I'm coming in now!! Anyway, it got to the point where I felt like I was living in a hamster cage, so I moved on. It was when I began to move everything out that I realized I WAS living in a hamster cage, and a filthy one! Under my bed was nearly covered with droppings and urine. Thankfully the guy who owned it didn't make me clean it all up. Ugh...

Coincidentally, it was in that place and time that I had my first MS exacerbation. The doctors could not figure out what was going on with me neurologically, but were very focused on those cute little vermin. In fact, it was my physician who found me another place to live! (with real amenities, lol). I won the bet, but I do wonder, at times, if those little mice had something to do with my autoimmune response going into overdrive.

When the Four Corners cases occurred in 1993, I really wondered about that stint in my cute little cabin.


Anyway, avoid sweeping up and through the mouse pee and poo-- use a damp method to swab it into a dust pan, then seal it up. Wearing a mask is a great move any time you're deep cleaning a shed, cabin, or musty dusty garage, basement, or attic.

 

[Jacie Estes]

We have deer in our yard everyday but I've only seen house mice inside.

****
More than you ever wanted to know about mice:

http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/species.cfm

Rodents in the United States that Carry Hantavirus

http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/rodents/

This is the part that worries me:

Other Rodents May Also Carry Hantavirus

Other rodents carry strains of hantavirus that cause HPS, but they have not yet been identified. In addition, other rodent species may play host to other types of hantaviruses that cause a different type of infection, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).

It is wise, therefore, to avoid close contact with rodents in general.


http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/rodents/

 

[Gardenlady]

:what: this thread is my nightmare :what:

And that is the cutest mouse ever, Quiche.

I wonder if the mild winter actually caused an upsurge in the rodent population, and that's why we are seeing these outbreaks?

 

[Jacie Estes]

Pine Ridge IHS concludes hantavirus response


With no new cases of hantavirus appearing, the Pine Ridge Indian Health Service Hospital has concluded its public health response to the May 30 death of a 7-year-old Pine Ridge girl from the virus, tribal officials said Friday.

A second, younger girl also was sickened from hantavirus, the tribe said in early June, and she is believed to have recovered, Salomon said Friday. She said the two girls were related, but she did not know if they lived in the same household. Hantavirus cannot be transmitted between people.

The tribe and IHS consulted with the state Department of Health and followed guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when it came to educating tribal members about the illness and how to avoid it.

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/pi...cle_d8bdc4d2-2792-5a01-a8a9-76955fa062a7.html

 

[Trino]

Pine Ridge has a lot of problems. It's almost like a third world country.

The average life expectancy is around 45. Can you believe this?

The infant mortality rate is 300 times higher than average.

TB is 800 times higher than average.

School dropout rate is 70%.

Diabetes is rampant.

Combine this with unemployment, alcoholism, malnutrition, etc, and you have a better idea about PR.

 

[Jacie Estes]

Pine Ridge has a lot of problems. It's almost like a third world country.

The average life expectancy is around 45. Can you believe this?

The infant mortality rate is 300 times higher than average.

TB is 800 times higher than average.

School dropout rate is 70%.

Diabetes is rampant.

Combine this with unemployment, alcoholism, malnutrition, etc, and you have a better idea about PR.

I have friends on Pine Ridge. Wounded Knee is one of the most powerful places in the country, right up there with Sedona. Some of the Elders I know from there are the nicest people. Being poor does not equate with being a bad person.

As for 3rd world country; unless a reservation has a thriving casino, none of them are Disneyland. Pine Ridge is in the middle of nowhere with few jobs. To work in the nearest larger town/city is a 4 hour round trip commute, no one can make money that way, gas is too expensive.

 

[Jacie Estes]

Displaced families move into FEMA trailers

...the families recently moved into the new trailers following the discovery of the hantavirus at their old trailers in June. A young tribal member died when she contacted the illness, which was the first known case of hantavirus on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/di...cle_2004f419-bd90-5b89-bc72-0575fe0d5b9a.html

 

[Sonya610]

I wonder if that has caused a "bloom" in this virus? Also, an increase in the mouse populations, I'd assume.

Yeah I can say in this area it has caused a huge spike in field mice. Never had them in the house before but this year those tiny (and oh so cute!) little guys came in.

Worse yet....a huge Timber Rattler and a Copperhead followed the mouse trails into our fenced yard. Never saw snakes in the yard before either, when my dogs found them high drama ensued! Fortunately no one (dogs, snakes, me) were harmed but I got serious about the mouse problem when the snakes started showing up.

Bought an electronic zapper and it has worked quite well. The Hantavirus had me slightly concerned, but a 3 foot adult rattler was even more worrisome! Plus they hunt at night during warm weather, thank goodness for the rattle because the first encounter was at 11 pm and I had no clue what the dogs were fussing over when I went outside in the dark.

 

[Jacie Estes]

We've had the same thing with mice and snakes this year. No copperheads here but we have rattlers. I almost hate going into the garden and wear gloves now, not that it would really help. We've been between 100-107 the last 4 days and I've seen more mice this year than last. I haven't tried the Zapper but may get one; kept finding dead mice in the house last year.

 

[Sonya610]

We've had the same thing with mice and snakes this year. No copperheads here but we have rattlers. I almost hate going into the garden and wear gloves now, not that it would really help. We've been between 100-107 the last 4 days and I've seen more mice this year than last. I haven't tried the Zapper but may get one; kept finding dead mice in the house last year.

The Rat Zappers work very well. The other methods are either dangerous or cruel (those awful snap type traps often catch a little foot or tail and torture the poor animals). I noticed droppings around my tools and couldn't figure out what could attract mice to that part of the house, yesterday I discovered the mice had been eating my emergency candles! Not just nibbling but eating half of them.

Fortunately Timber rattlers are not aggressive, they really just want to be left alone. Be loud and let them know you are coming so they can warn you off. I don't worry about getting bit while walking around but the dogs are another matter since they RACE around the yard and could run over top of one without seeing them.

 

[Jacie Estes]

The Rat Zappers work very well. The other methods are either dangerous or cruel (those awful snap type traps often catch a little foot or tail and torture the poor animals).

Fortunately Timber rattlers are not aggressive, they really just want to be left alone. Be loud and let them know you are coming so they can warn you off. I don't worry about getting bit while walking around but the dogs are another matter since they RACE around the yard and could run over top of one without seeing them.

Same thing here, 3 dogs and other dogs that I feed. Our Beagle/Corgi goes after snakes.