The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed Friday that a La Plata County resident has died after becoming infected with hantavirus – a rare but often deadly disease carried by deer mice.
Spokesman Mark Salley said it is the second confirmed case of hantavirus in the state this year. In both 2015 cases, the disease was fatal.
San Juan Basin Health Department sent samples to CDPHE’s laboratory in Denver for testing earlier this week.
Since 1993, the state health department has documented more than 90 cases of hantavirus in Colorado, and more than 40 percent of people died from the infection.
Jennifer House, state public health veterinarian, said she couldn’t provide details about the circumstances under which the La Plata County resident became infected. She said in any given year, hantavirus typically infects from one to eight Colorado residents. She said hantavirus infections are predominantly – though not necessarily – a rural phenomenon, and spring and summer mark their high season.
“(People are) most likely to get exposed to hantavirus this time of year, forward, as people will go into places that have been closed through the winter. But when you’re cleaning up cabins for summer use, individuals are stirring up all the rodent nests and droppings,” she said.
There is no cure for hantavirus. To prevent becoming infected, House said it is important to ventilate areas that might be infested with mice for a week before cleaning, ensure they’re exposed to virus-killing sunlight and soak anything that needs cleaning with bleach mixture or household disinfectant for at least 10 minutes.
After that, clean up the mixture wearing gloves and a mask, she said.
Usually, hantavirus starts with fever, body aches, headache and vomiting – symptoms that typically start one to six weeks after exposure.
“At first there are no respiratory symptoms. However, the illness can quickly progress to respiratory distress within one to five days. People may have a dry cough and difficulty breathing caused by the lungs filling with fluid. Because no effective treatment exists, prevention is key,” according to a San Juan Basin Health Department release.
