For immediate release: May 22, 2008 (08-079)

Contacts:
Dr. Ron Wohrle, Environmental Health Veterinarian 360-236-3369
Rebecca Baer, Zoonotic Disease Epidemiologist 206-418-5614
Allison Cook, Communications Office 360-236-4022

Spring cleaning can stir-up the wrong kind of dirt

OLYMPIA ¾ Don’t sweep or vacuum those mouse droppings — they may harm you.

Mouse droppings may contain a virus, which if stirred into the air and inhaled, could cause a life-threatening infection in the lungs called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

Hantavirus infection is an extremely rare but potentially fatal disease. Since the disease was identified in 1993, there have been 34 reported cases in Washington, with 11 deaths. Last year, two people contracted the disease and survived.

There is no specific treatment for hantavirus. If symptoms are recognized early, supportive care may increase a person’s chances of survival. Early symptoms begin within one to six weeks of exposure to the virus and include fever, muscle aches, and extreme fatigue. Some people have headache, nausea, and vomiting. The disease progresses to cough and difficulty breathing. Anyone with these symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately.

Spring cleaning can lead to the discovery of rodent droppings or nests. Deer mice, which carry the virus, often move into people’s living areas or outbuildings during cold weather. Infected deer mice shed the virus in their urine, droppings, and saliva.

“You can’t tell if mouse droppings contain a harmful virus and we don’t have a way of testing them,” said Dr. Ron Wohrle, environmental health veterinarian at the Department of Health. “It’s best to assume all rodent droppings contain harmful germs and clean them up properly.”

To protect you and your family against hantavirus, follow these safety guidelines:

·         Before starting clean-up, open doors and windows to air-out enclosed rodent-contaminated areas for 30 minutes. Sunlight helps kill the virus.

·         Do not sweep, brush, or vacuum droppings or nests; that may stir-up dust and increase your chances of inhaling virus particles that may be present.

·         Thoroughly soak or spray rodent areas (nests, droppings, dead mice) with a bleach/water mixture (one part bleach to nine parts water) or other disinfectant that kills viruses. Let it soak for at least five minutes.

·         After disinfecting the area, wear rubber gloves and clean-up the droppings with disposable materials such as paper towels, rags, or mops. Seal all materials, droppings, or nests in double plastic bags and put them in the garbage. Before removing gloves, wash or disinfect them and then wash hands with soap and warm water.

After cleaning up a rodent-contaminated area, seal the rodents out for good and do rodent control as needed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information on rodent control (http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/). The Department of Health’s Web site has more information on hantavirus (http://www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/factsheet/hanta.htm).

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