Health warning issued as incurable rat disease kills four people in two US states
Four individuals have died this year from an incurable rat sickness, prompting officials to issue a health warning.
About 30 cases of hantavirus, which is fatal in 36% of cases, are usually reported annually in the United States, primarily in the west and southwest.
But the illness is currently spiking in some states.
Following the discovery of seven cases and three fatalities this year in infection hotspot Arizona, officials have issued a warning. In the six years between 2016 and 2022, there were 11 instances.
In California, there have also been two cases and one fatality; the latter occurred in a county where the virus hasn’t been found in 20 years.
As a result of the recent extreme weather and intense rain, virus-carrying rodents are believed to be seeking refuge indoors, where they come into touch with people, contributing to an increase in illnesses in certain places.
In addition to increasing plant growth and the availability of food for rodents, heavy rains can also increase rodent activity and, eventually, perhaps cause a spike in rodent populations.
“Hantavirus is a severe and sometimes fatal respiratory illness,” according to Arizona health officials.
It is not restricted to a single area. Even if mice are never observed, it can be found in many southwestern US locations where there is rodent activity.
Mice and rats that harbor the hantavirus may not show any symptoms.
However, they can leave behind droppings, saliva, and urine, and if people disturb contaminated surfaces, they could breathe in the virus.
Nine to 33 days after infection, patients first experience a sudden onset of fever, aches in their muscles, nausea, and stomach pain.
However, this eventually develops into respiratory distress in a disease known as pulmonary virus of the Hantavirus.
Here, the virus infects the cells that line the small blood capillaries in the lungs, causing them to begin leaking and accumulating fluid inside the lungs. Shock or respiratory failure are the causes of death.
Doctors rely on IV infusions and over-the-counter drugs to relieve symptoms as there are no particular treatments for the illness.
The majority of hantavirus infections occur in Colorado and New Mexico, each of which has seen 119 cases since 1993.
With 85 cases, Arizona has the third-highest total, after California with 78 cases and Washington with 59 cases.
The first hantavirus case in Sierra County, California, in over 20 years occurred in April, killing the victim.
“Hantavirus can be very serious and deadly, although it is rare,” officials stated at the time.
In California, there are roughly three instances of hantavirus sickness recorded annually, and one in three cases result in death.
Since that rodents’ ranges are shifting due to rising temperatures, there are worries that the disease may be discovered in new places more frequently.
