Cleaning the house when the weather gets warmer? Watch out for hantaviruses

Thomas Kitchin and Victoria Hurst / First Light / Getty Images

RAPID CITY, SD - As the summer season begins, many people begin cleaning cabins, sheds, and other outbuildings that have been closed for the winter - all places where someone could be exposed to hantavirus.

Hantavirus lung syndrome (HPS) is a life-threatening viral infection that causes the lungs to fill with fluid and cause respiratory failure. Infected rodents excrete the virus in urine, feces, and saliva and spread through the air when shaken. It is not person to person contagious.

It was first discovered in 1993 in the Four Corners region (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona). Since then, about 640 cases have been reported nationwide, including 15 in South Dakota. 69% of South Dakota cases were reported in the East River.

There is no specific treatment for HPS. Symptoms usually appear within two weeks of exposure and include fatigue, fever (101-104 degrees), and muscle pain. About half of people infected with HPS also develop headaches, dizziness, chills, and gastrointestinal problems. People with HPS are often hospitalized and many require breathing apparatus and / or oxygen therapy.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified four types of rodents that carry hantaviruses: the cotton rat, the white-footed mouse, the rice rat, and the deer vole. Deer mice and white footed mice are common in South Dakota.

Fighting rodents in and around your home is the best way to reduce your risk of contracting hantaviruses.

Tips to avoid hantavirus infection when cleaning an area showing signs of rodent infestation include:

• Ventilate the room by opening windows and doors for 30 minutes before starting cleaning. Wear gloves and clean dead rodents or their urine, feces and nests with a disinfectant.
• Saturate devices with disinfectant. Before removing, let it soak according to the manufacturer's instructions on the label.
• Clean floors, countertops, cabinets and drawers with disinfectant.
• Use a commercially available disinfectant that is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and follow the directions on the label, or use a bleach solution made up of one part bleach and nine parts water (10% solution).
• Don't raise dust by sweeping or vacuuming feces, urine, or nesting material.
• Do not let children play in confined spaces or in empty buildings where rodents may be present.

Hantavirus has a 38% death rate. So if you've been around rodents and have symptoms of fever, deep muscle pain, and severe shortness of breath, see your doctor right away and be sure to mention it was there. Rodents

For more information on hantaviruses, visit the CDC online by clicking here or the South Dakota Department of Health by clicking here .

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