A rodent-borne disease with no cure has led to several fatalities in the US, prompting a health warning. The Arizona Department of Health Services reports a rise in hantavirus cases, transmitted from rodents to humans through viral droplets from handling materials contaminated with rodent urine, saliva, or feces.
Seven cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) have been confirmed in Arizona, with three resulting in death. The syndrome is described as a severe and sometimes fatal respiratory illness caused by hantavirus infection. Additionally, two hantavirus cases and one death have been reported in California.
Symptoms of HPS include fever, headache, and muscle aches, rapidly progressing to breathing difficulties. The virus is primarily found in deer mice in Arizona but can exist in various areas of the southwestern US with rodent activity, even if mice are not visible. Hantavirus is not spread through human-to-human contact.
Before the recent cases, the last hantavirus case in Coconino County was reported in 2016. The syndrome was first detected in 1993 after infecting a Navajo tribe on the Arizona-New Mexico border, resulting in an 80% mortality rate.
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