Hantavirus in Arizona: 9 cases and 3 deaths to date

In a follow-up on the hantavirus situation in Arizona, the Arizona Department of Health Services reports nine confirmed cases, including three deaths have been reported to date.

Officials say since 2012, there have been anywhere from zero to five cases of hantavirus reported per year in Arizona.

Image/CDC

Cases have been reported from Apache, Coconino, Navajo, and Pima counties.

Additionally, cases have been reported in California, New Mexico and Washington.

From 1993 to 2021, Arizona saw 85 cases, one of the highest totals in the United States.

Hantaviruses are carried by a variety of wild rodents including deer mice. Animals with hantavirus don’t show visible signs of sickness. Hantavirus cases are infrequent in Arizona and usually occur in the northern regions and in rural areas, but the virus can be found throughout the southwestern United States.

People can be exposed to hantaviruses by breathing in infected particles from rodent saliva, urine or droppings, as well as through direct contact with wild rodents or their nesting materials. It cannot be transmitted person to person. 

Signs of hantavirus infection usually occur within one to five weeks after exposure. Some early signs of infection include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, headaches, dizziness, chills, and gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Late symptoms occur four to ten days after initial symptoms begin and include cough, shortness of breath, respiratory distress progressing into severe pneumonia.

The virus can cause a severe and sometimes fatal illness called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is why it’s important to see a health care provider if you are experiencing symptoms. 

Initial symptoms can mimic other illnesses, so it’s important to tell your provider if you’ve recently been exposed to rodents or an area that may have been rodent-infested. 

Seek medical attention if you’re exhibiting symptoms and have had recent contact with rodents or areas with rodent activity, consider yourself a person with risk factors, or develop any concerning respiratory symptoms. 

The Arizona Department of Health Services offers the following recommendations:

Prevent hantavirus by preventing rodent exposure at home 

• Prevent rodents from entering your home by plugging or sealing all holes and gaps to the outside greater than 1/4-inch in diameter. Use steel wool, thick wire screen, metal flashing or cement to seal holes.

• Eliminate or reduce places rodents can live around your home by removing outdoor junk and clutter, and by moving woodpiles, lumber, hay bales etc., as far away from your home as possible.

• Don’t make food easily available to rodents. Don’t leave pet food out in dishes and dispose of garbage in trash cans with tight-fitting lids.

• Prevent mice infestation inside your home by using traps and proper removal.

Prevent hantavirus by preventing rodent exposure when recreating outdoors

• Avoid sleeping on the bare ground.

• Don’t have an accumulation of garbage or other piles that may facilitate rodent nesting around campsites.

• Place any wood, bricks, or stones at least 100 feet from living spaces.

• Set rodent traps near camp areas.

• Keep all food and water covered.

• Clean up any spilled food.

• Keep pet food covered and discard any food not eaten by pets after each meal.

• Don’t touch live or dead rodents or disturb their burrows, dens, or nests.

• Don’t enter closed or confined structures for a long period of time without respiratory protection.

Prevent hantavirus by using effective clean-up methods for areas with rodent activity

• If you’re cleaning a space where there was recent rodent activity, make sure to clean with an Environmental Protection Agency registered disinfectant. If a disinfectant is unavailable, mix one and a half cups of bleach with a gallon of water. Spray this solution before cleaning to inactivate the virus and prevent it from becoming airborne.

• Prior to cleaning, open all doors and windows, especially in areas that have been closed for an extended period including garages, storage sheds or second homes not in use year-round. Leave the doors and windows open for 30 minutes before cleaning and allow direct sunlight on the area  if possible.

• Don’t stir up dust in the infested area by vacuuming, sweeping, or any other means. This will allow virus particles to go into the air where they can be breathed in and potentially cause infection.

• When rodent droppings or nests are found in and around the home, spray them liberally with a household disinfectant (such as one-part bleach to nine parts water) and allow them to soak for at least 15 minutes. Any rodent droppings and rodent nests should be sprayed with a pesticide to kill fleas before disinfecting or disposing of the carcasses.

• After disinfecting, wear rubber gloves and clean up the droppings with disposable materials such as paper towels, rags, or disposable mop heads.

• Seal all materials, droppings or nests in double plastic bags and dispose of them in the trash.