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 groupsthighs, 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