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Health officials watch virus
Moist spring could boost population of rodents with disease
Tuesday, June 10th 2008
By Steve Grazier | Journal Staff Writer
Public-health officials in Montezuma County and all over Colorado are urging residents to take precautions to escape hantavirus this year.
So far, four cases of hantavirus-pulmonary syndrome have been reported in 2008, with one resulting in a fatality. The most recent cases were confirmed in late May within Delta and Dolores counties.
?It?s everywhere. It?s in the eastern part of Colorado and moving its way west,? said Lori Cooper, Montezuma County Health Department director. ?So you don?t want to be stirring up any rodent or mouse droppings.?
Two previous cases of hantavirus were reported in Kiowa County in February and another Fremont County in early May. The patient in Kiowa County died.
Opal Stalker, a public-health nurse at the Montezuma County health clinic, said Monday that there have been no documented reports of hantavirus in the county so far this year.
Heavy snowpack from this past winter has provided moisture for ample vegetation that provides food for rodents, and often results in a large jump in both mouse populations and infection rates, according to John Pape, a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist, who specializes in animal-related diseases.
Hantavirus is a respiratory disease carried by deer mice, which are common to rural areas throughout the state. Deer mice are brown on top and white underneath, with large ears relative to their head size. The virus can infect humans who inhale dirt and dust contaminated with deer mice urine and feces when working in rodent-infested structures.
Safety measures the county health department recommends include:
Rodent-proof buildings by plugging holes and conduct year-round rodent control.
Ensure areas uninviting to rodents by keeping indoor areas, particularly kitchens, clean.
Dispose of garbage in sealed containers.
Eliminate food sources by storing food in rodent-proof containers, including food for pets, birds and livestock.
Remove rodent hiding places near the home or building, such as wood, junk and brush piles.
Before cleaning rodent-infested structures, health department officials recommend ventilating the area for 30 to 60 minutes. Watering down areas where dust, dirt and mouse droppings have accumulated with a bleach and water mixture is also a precaution.
Hantavirus is fatal in nearly half of the cases. The disease begins with high fever, severe body aches, headache and vomiting. Within one to five days, the illness quickly progresses to respiratory distress, including a dry cough and difficulty breathing when lungs fill with fluid.
Symptoms of hantavirus begin from one to six weeks after exposure.
For more information on hantavirus, contact the Montezuma County Health Department at 565-3056.
Reach Steve Grazier at steveg@cortezjournal.com.
Health officials watch virus
Moist spring could boost population of rodents with disease
Tuesday, June 10th 2008
By Steve Grazier | Journal Staff Writer
Public-health officials in Montezuma County and all over Colorado are urging residents to take precautions to escape hantavirus this year.
So far, four cases of hantavirus-pulmonary syndrome have been reported in 2008, with one resulting in a fatality. The most recent cases were confirmed in late May within Delta and Dolores counties.
?It?s everywhere. It?s in the eastern part of Colorado and moving its way west,? said Lori Cooper, Montezuma County Health Department director. ?So you don?t want to be stirring up any rodent or mouse droppings.?
Two previous cases of hantavirus were reported in Kiowa County in February and another Fremont County in early May. The patient in Kiowa County died.
Opal Stalker, a public-health nurse at the Montezuma County health clinic, said Monday that there have been no documented reports of hantavirus in the county so far this year.
Heavy snowpack from this past winter has provided moisture for ample vegetation that provides food for rodents, and often results in a large jump in both mouse populations and infection rates, according to John Pape, a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist, who specializes in animal-related diseases.
Hantavirus is a respiratory disease carried by deer mice, which are common to rural areas throughout the state. Deer mice are brown on top and white underneath, with large ears relative to their head size. The virus can infect humans who inhale dirt and dust contaminated with deer mice urine and feces when working in rodent-infested structures.
Safety measures the county health department recommends include:
Rodent-proof buildings by plugging holes and conduct year-round rodent control.
Ensure areas uninviting to rodents by keeping indoor areas, particularly kitchens, clean.
Dispose of garbage in sealed containers.
Eliminate food sources by storing food in rodent-proof containers, including food for pets, birds and livestock.
Remove rodent hiding places near the home or building, such as wood, junk and brush piles.
Before cleaning rodent-infested structures, health department officials recommend ventilating the area for 30 to 60 minutes. Watering down areas where dust, dirt and mouse droppings have accumulated with a bleach and water mixture is also a precaution.
Hantavirus is fatal in nearly half of the cases. The disease begins with high fever, severe body aches, headache and vomiting. Within one to five days, the illness quickly progresses to respiratory distress, including a dry cough and difficulty breathing when lungs fill with fluid.
Symptoms of hantavirus begin from one to six weeks after exposure.
For more information on hantavirus, contact the Montezuma County Health Department at 565-3056.
Reach Steve Grazier at steveg@cortezjournal.com.