"Protect Yourself from Hantavirus: Latest News and Prevention Tips from the New Mexico Department of Health"

2023-04-16 15:22:00

To UNITED STATESthe science laboratory division of the Department of Health of the New Mexico (DOH) reports three people with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (SPH) discoveries in the past two weeks, bringing the total number of cases in 2023 to 5.

All of these people are unrelated and appeared in different places in the world. Four Corners region. One person has died from the virus. All four surviving patients required hospitalization, including intensive care units, before they could return home.

The infection is due to no name virus. In New Mexico, deer mice [Peromyscus maniculatus] are the main carriers of the Sin Nombre hantavirus. The virus is found in the feces and urine of mice.

Reminders on Hantavirus of the new world

The hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a serious lung disease caused by a hantavirusa virus belonging to the family of Bunyaviridae.Symptoms usually occur 2-4 weeks after exposure to the virus. The first symptoms are fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches. Then 1 to 5 days after the onset of symptoms occurs hantavirus pulmonary syndrome which combines cough and difficulty breathing.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine.

The reservoir animal is a rodent whose species varies according to the regions of the world. Humans are accidental hosts of these viruses, which can be transmitted by inhalation of aerosols contaminated with feces or urine of infected rodents or by direct contact with living or dead infected rodents or with feces or urine. of these rodents.

Recommendations for hikers:

Use sites designated for camping or day detention.
Do not sleep in contact with the grass.
Use a tent with a floor, a zipper and no holes.
Travel on designated trails. Do not venture into bushes and meadows
Maintain good hand and food hygiene.
Consume potable, bottled, boiled or disinfected water, and do not collect wild fruits in areas where rodents are evident.
Keep waste in closed containers; if necessary, bury them.
Store food in sturdy, closed containers. Keep pots and utensils out of the reach of rodents.