JUST A WARNING TO ALL RESTORERS OF RAT INFESTED RADIOS......



Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

Definition***

Hantavirus is a disease characterized by flu-like symptoms followed by
respiratory failure.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Hantavirus has probably caused people to get sick for years in the United
States, but it was not recognized until recently.

A 1993 outbreak of fatal respiratory illness on an Indian reservation in the
Four Corners area (the border of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona)
led epidemiologists to the discovery of hantavirus as the causative agent.
Since that discovery, hantavirus disease has been reported in every western
state, and in many eastern states.

Hantavirus is carried by rodents, particularly deer mice, and is present in
their urine and feces. The virus does not cause disease in the carrier
animal. Humans are thought to become infected when they are exposed to
contaminated dust from the nests or droppings of mice.

The disease is not, however, passed between humans. Contaminated dust is
often encountered when cleaning long-vacated dwellings, sheds, or other
enclosed areas.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that
rodents carrying hantavirus have been found in at least twenty national
parks and that it is possible that the virus is in all of the parks.

Epidemiologists at the CDC suspect that campers and hikers may have a higher
chance of contracting the disease than most people. This is due to the fact
that they pitch tents on the forest floor and lay their sleeping bags down
in musty cabins.

So far, however, of the more than 100 cases that have been reported in the
U.S., only two were directly linked to camping or hiking. Most people who
are exposed have come into contact with rodent droppings in their own homes.

The initial symptoms of hantavirus disease closely resemble influenza. The
disease begins abruptly with fever, chills, muscle aches (myalgia),
headache, nausea and vomiting, and malaise. A dry cough may be present. The
fever may be higher in younger people than in older people.

For a very short period, the infected person feels somewhat better, but this
is followed within a day or two by an increased respiratory rate caused by a
seepage of fluid into the lungs. The initial shortness of breath is subtle
and the patient may be unaware of it, but progression is rapid. The patient
ultimately develops respiratory failure.

An effective treatment for hantavirus is not yet available. Even with
intensive therapy, more than half of the diagnosed cases have been fatal.