What is hantavirus?

After news broke that Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus a week before her 95-year-old husband died of heart disease, many may be wondering what hantavirus is and how deadly it could be.

What is hantavirus?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said hantavirus is a family of viruses.

The viruses can cause two syndromes.

One syndrome, which is found in the Western Hemisphere, including the U.S., is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The most common type of hantavirus that causes it is spread by deer mice, the CDC said.

In the U.S. most cases caused by the deer mouse are west of the Mississippi River, the Mayo Clinic said.

In the Northeast, the illness is caused by the white-footed mouse. In the Southeast, it’s the rice rat and cotton rat while in South America the rice rat and the vesper mouse are carriers.

The other is called hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. That illness is mostly found in Europe and Asia. But the Seoul Virus which can cause HFRS, can be found all over the world including the U.S.

Transmission

Hantavirus can be spread by inhaling it, eating food contaminated by the virus, touching items that are contaminated or being bitten or scratched by a mouse or rat that carries the virus.

The virus is found in a rodent’s urine, feces or saliva, the Mayo Clinic said.

Person-to-person transmission is only found with the Andes variation found in South America, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms

The symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome come in two stages, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The first, which lasts for several days, includes:

Fever
Chills
Muscle aches
Muscle pain
Headache

They may also have nausea, stomach pain, vomiting or diarrhea.

But then as the illness advances, a person can have damage to their lung tissue, fluid buildup in their lungs and issues with their heart and lungs.

Signs of the second stage include:

Cough
Difficulty breathing
Low blood pressure
Irregular heart rate

For HFRS, the hantavirus affects the kidneys and the symptoms develop within one or two weeks, but can take up to eight weeks after exposure, the CDC said.

Typically the symptoms come on suddenly.

They include

Intense headaches
Back and abdominal pain
Fever
Chills
Nausea
Blurred Vision

People then can develop low blood pressure, acute shock, internal bleeding and acute kidney failure.

Death rates

The fatality rate depends on the strain of the virus. The one carried by deer mice can have a death rate of between 30% and 50%

Prevention

To prevent the spread of hantavirus, you need to keep rodents out, the Mayo Clinic said.

Block access, including holes as small as 1/4 inc. You can use wire screening, steel wool, metal flashing or cement.

Clean up food waste, wash dishes, clean counters and store food in rodent-proof containers.

Remove materials rodents use for nests including brush, grass and random items near a building foundation. Also, move woodpiles and compost bins away from buildings.

Set traps near baseboards.

Air out buildings, campers and cabins, or other structures that aren’t used frequently.

When cleaning wear masks and gloves; spray nests, droppings or dead rodents with disinfectant, bleach or alcohol before handling for five minutes; use paper towels; clean the area with disinfectant; wash gloved hands then throw the gloves and mask away; wash your hands again after with soap and water.

What is hantavirus?