Hantavirus is a group of viruses carried by the deer mice in North America. It is known to spread by thier urine, droppings, and saliva. Make sure whenever you find a rat dropping you treat it as a biohazard because there is no way to distinguish an infected rat droppping carrying the hantavirus compared to a normal dropping without the virus. What makes this virus even scarier is that it can be transmitted through the air by breathing in the dust, or particles, of the droppings.
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| Picture of a deer mouse |
Symptoms over the virus occur about after a month of exposure starting with flu like symptoms, including fever, vomiting and fatigue. If infected, you start experiencing respiratory failure characterized by shortness of breath
Treatment is available if the virus happens to concentrate more on your kidneys. However, if the virus happens to reside in lungs, there is still no treatment/cure for this type of infection.
You can prevent receiving the hantavirus by taking some precautions in your daily life such as setting mouse traps, making sure your house has all cracks sealed where rodents could potentially enter, treat every rat dropping as a biohazard, and drinking disinfected water all to prevent the possibility of encountering this virus.
Sources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001382.htm
http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehsphl/factsheet/hanta.htm
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