2 Mice Found at Park Had Deadly Hantavirus

For the second year in a row, biologists have found rodents infected with the deadly hantavirus in Ventura County.

“The virus is in wild mice populations out there, and you have to take precautions when dealing with them,” said Randy Smith, an environmental health specialist with the county.

Two wild mice trapped at Point Mugu State Park in April tested positive for the virus, Smith said.

County biologists set out about 60 traps in the park and tested 12 mice, he said. The crew collecting the traps wore face shields and respirators to prevent possible infection. The mice were drugged, then killed, and their blood was tested for the disease.

Last year, biologists from the county’s Environmental Health Division trapped mice infected with the virus at Wood Ranch in Simi Valley, and three spots in Los Padres National Forest.

But no one in Ventura County has ever been infected with the virus.

Biologists are testing other sites throughout the county this year to determine whether the virus has spread, Smith said.

Since state health officials began monitoring the hantavirus in 1994, they have found 14 cases of human infection. Of those, eight were fatal.

The California testing began after a 1993 outbreak in New Mexico sickened dozens of people and killed several, officials said.

The virus--one of a variety of fevers that cause internal bleeding--was first diagnosed among U.S. servicemen in the 1950s in the Hantan region of Korea during the Korean War. One hundred and ninety soldiers died.

Though the hantavirus is not spread by humans and is thought to be difficult to catch, there is no cure for it. And once infected, people have more than a 50% chance of dying, Smith said.

Infection is believed to be caused when people inhale dust containing the dried urine or droppings of rodents infected with the disease.

Treated soon enough with oxygen and antiviral drugs, those infected survive, but suffer flu-like symptoms, such as chills, muscle ache, nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath.

Health officials suggest that people take the following precautions to avoid exposure to the virus:

* Stay away from rodents dead or alive, as well as rodent droppings and urine.

* When camping, pitch tents in areas without droppings, avoid rodent dens, drink only disinfected water and sleep on a ground cover and pad.

* When opening unused cabins, sheds or other buildings, open all doors and windows, leave the building and let it air out for 30 minutes.

* Spray disinfectant on dead rodents or areas contaminated by rodents and clean them with bleach, using rubber gloves and a dust mask.

* If you must pick up a dead rodent, handle it only with rubber gloves. Put the carcass into a plastic bag, seal it and dispose of it in the trash or incinerator.

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Hantavirus

The virus affected 3,000 American soldiers during the Korean War, killing 190. A new form of the virus appeared in the U.S. in May 1993.

Since then, California health officials have launched a testing campaign that found hantavirus in the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Orange, Kern and now Ventura. Scientists trapped 12 mice in Point Mugu State Park and found hantavirus in two of the animals, which were destroyed.

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Symptoms: Flu-like, chills, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, red eyes and shortness of breath, eventual respiratory failure.

Transmission: Rodent borne, usually in rural settings, no evidence of transmission between people.

Areas of outbreaks: East Asia, southwestern U.S., Minnesota.

Treatment: Experimenting with antiviral drugs, not conclusive yet.

Source: Centers for Disease Control