Hanta Virus - Weld & Adams County

[jazzlover]

I have cleaned many a livestock barn and empty cabin in hantavirus country--some with rodent droppings measured in inches deep. The important things, as the Boulder County pamphlet says, are to spray things down with a bleach solution, not to inhale airborne dust and not to handle dead (or live) mice. When I was working in heavily infested areas, I would wear a respirator, as well.

Deer mice are quite common in Colorado. If you have a home in rural or semi-rural area, the deer mouse is probably more likely to be what you find in your house than the common house mouse. In any case, while hantavirus is quite serious and potentially deadly, that has to be taken in context with the extremely few number of infected people and deaths that have occurred in the last 20 years. In fact, a number of the deaths from hantavirus have occurred on the Indian reservations in the Southwest, where a significant amount of the population still lives in relatively primitive housing--often with dirt floors and without indoor plumbing.

[LBear]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I have cleaned many a livestock barn and empty cabin in hantavirus country--some with rodent droppings measured in inches deep. The important things, as the Boulder County pamphlet says, are to spray things down with a bleach solution, not to inhale airborne dust and not to handle dead (or live) mice. When I was working in heavily infested areas, I would wear a respirator, as well.

Deer mice are quite common in Colorado. If you have a home in rural or semi-rural area, the deer mouse is probably more likely to be what you find in your house than the common house mouse. In any case, while hantavirus is quite serious and potentially deadly, that has to be taken in context with the extremely few number of infected people and deaths that have occurred in the last 20 years. In fact, a number of the deaths from hantavirus have occurred on the Indian reservations in the Southwest, where a significant amount of the population still lives in relatively primitive housing--often with dirt floors and without indoor plumbing.

I believe I have/had around 2-4 mice in my basement. It is not an infestation, as the amount of droppings were very minimal. I did not know about the Hantavirus until AFTER I cleaned up the area. If I knew what I know now, I would have done it differently. Originally, I used a shop vac to vacuum up the few droppings (maybe 30-50 total) and I emptied & disposed of the bag OUTSIDE wearing a dust mask.

Knowing now what I know, I would have used bleach on the droppings and worn a better mask.

I do feel better knowing that the virus is mostly caught due to HEAVY INFESTATIONS. Barns and other areas were it is very dusty and there are 100's of deer mice, if not thousands. I figure even with the shop vac, the few droppings that went in, the bag was emptied and disposed of outside with a wind blowing AWAY from me.

They say the virus incubates 2-4 weeks, sometimes up to 6 but 2-4 is the avg.

JAZZLOVER -

Do you still come into contact with deer mice in your occupation?

[esya]

I work with an insurance pool doing building inspections in rural areas in the state. The poster that recommended the physical barriers for cleanup (cover hands, eyes, mouth) was correct as a preventative. I would also be on the alert for an unexplained cough in addition to the CDC descriptions of symptoms. The best prevention is to use regular exterminators in buildings that are prone to rodents and to not let droppings accumulate, as that is the item most likely to create the necessary infectious dust.

[LBear]

MyFox Colorado | Weld County Man Dies From Hantavirus

A 38 year old man died last month from the Hantavirus in Greeley (Weld County) . They did not know he had it until after he died. He got it from working outside. It is misdiagnosed a lot. Most fatalities are a result of them not diagnosing it until it is too late.

He is the second person to die in Colorado from it this year.

Sadly, the disease should already have a cure. Funding $$$ is the main reason why there is no cure. The disease was discovered back in 1993 at the 4-corners area. It is called the "orphan disease" as most people don't care about it. If and when the virus morphs and starts to spread more rapidly, then people might take notice.

[.gif]

i guess you are still alive.

[LBear]

Originally Posted by .gif

i guess you are still alive.

Disappointed?