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Hanta Virus Symptoms & Cure

Hantavirus is a disease spread through rodent droppings. Although initially appearing as nothing more than the flu, infected patients will soon develop shortness of breath and the disease is frequently lethal thereafter. If caught early hantavirus can be treated, though proper diagnosis can be difficult.

  1. Exposure

    • Hantavirus is spread in the feces and urine from rodents, particularly deer mice, white-footed mice, cotton rats and rice rats. In some western states, up to 14 percent of the deer mouse population carry the hantavirus, though infected rodents appear healthy. Breathing dust contaminated with rodent droppings is the primary means of human exposure. Homeowners with rodent infestation are the are at greatest risk of contracting hantavirus, though hikers who stay in seldom-used cabins or camping areas are also warned of encountering infected mouse waste. Hantavirus cannot be spread from human-to-human contact.

    Symptoms

    • Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) has an incubation time between five and 21 days from initial exposure to infected rodent droppings. The disease will first manifest as flu-like symptoms: fever, chills and aching muscles. In fact, the body initially responds as it would if infected with influenza or other viruses. Infected patients will start to feel better, but within a day or two will develop shortness of breath and a dry cough. This indicates that the patient's lungs are filling with fluid. Within 24 hours the patient will have great difficulty breathing and, if the disease is left untreated, death is likely to occur.

    Treatment

    • If you've been exposed to mouse droppings and develop flu-like symptoms, visit your primary care provider. Since hantavirus is uncommon in the United States, be sure your doctor is aware of your possible exposure. During the flu-like phase of the disease, blood tests are the only method for confirming hantavirus infection. At this stage your doctor will prescribe antiviral medications. If you develop shortness of breath or a cough after the flu-like phase, seek medical treatment immediately. Patients in the cardiopulmonary phase of HPS are monitored in an intensive-care unit, aggressively treated with antivirals and, if necessary, placed on a respirator to assist breathing. Even so, at this stage the hantavirus mortality rate is between 30 and 50 percent.

    Prevention

    • The hantavirus is able to survive in rodent droppings for up to three days. To clean up potentially infected rodent bedding, droppings or dust, don protective gloves and a dust mask and wet contaminated areas with a solution of two cups of household bleach to one gallon of water. Do not sweep or vacuum the area, as that could expose you to airborne infection. Infected clothes and bedding can be laundered in hot water with regular detergent. Wash your hands throughly with soap and water after removing your gloves.

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