Suspected Hantavirus case turns up in Grant County

MOSES LAKE — A Grant County resident has been hospitalized since mid-April with respiratory failure caused by a suspected Hantavirus infection, according to Grant County health officials.

“The individual is believed to have been exposed to contaminated deer mouse droppings while cleaning out their vehicle,” said a news release from the Grant County Health District (GCHD).

“According to the family, the ill individual is improving but is still hospitalized with respiratory failure,” the district said. “Preliminary test results were positive for Hantavirus infection.”

However, health district officials said they are still waiting for confirmation. If confirmed, this will be the first case of Hantavirus in Grant County in six years.

In 2012, two people died from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), the health district said, with an average of one to five cases reported statewide every year.

According to Amber McCoy, an environmental health specialist with GCHD, people can recover from HPS pretty quickly.

“Once they’ve survived it, it’s not a long, drawn-out recovery,” she said.

The Hantavirus is found in the urine, droppings and salIva of infected rodents, and a person can become infected when breathing in dust particles containing the virus, or by commingling in contact with the virus and then touching their eyes, nose, or mouth, or from the bite of an infected rodent.

The health district emphasized that the virus “does not spread person to person.”

“The greatest risk occurs when people enter enclosed area with rodent infestation and poor air circulation, such as sheds and other outbuildings, cabins, building crawl spaces, vehicles and campers,” the health district said.

McCoy said the health district was not going to release which part of the county the suspected case of HPD was contracted, or which hospital the patient was currently recovering in.

Early symptoms of Hantavirus are very flu-like — fever, muscle ache, chills, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting — however coughing and shortness of breath get worse as the disease progresses, and can eventually lead to respiratory failure.

“About one out of every three people diagnosed with HPS have died,” the health district said.

According to the health district, it is important to air out rodent-infested spaces for at least 30 minutes, as well as wear rubber gloves and a protective mask while cleaning. The health district also advises never to vacuum or sweep a rodent-infested space, instead to spray it thoroughly with a mixture of 1 1/2 cups of bleach in warm water and let that disinfectant sit for 10 minutes before mopping or sponging it up.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.