A rare virus that can cause major health difficulties has been spreading among rodents, which has health officials in Arizona quite worried.
Where is everyone?
Arizona has reported an increase in hantavirus infections, with seven confirmed cases and three deaths in the last six months, according to Physician’s Weekly, who cite a notice from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
According to Physician’s Weekly, Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in New York, told NBC News that hantavirus is an uncommon but significant source of serious, and often fatal, respiratory infections. “It is transmitted by various rodents, especially the deer mouse, and can cause mild disease, but it does cause fatal illness in a significant percentage of people who acquire this illness.”
Arizona ranks among the top states in the nation for reported cases of hantavirus, while the majority of cases are recorded in the western and southwestern states of the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Arizona Department of Health has confirmed eleven instances of hantavirus between 2016 and 2022, as reported by Physician’s Weekly.
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Just how crucial is this?
Deer mice can transmit hantavirus to humans by their saliva, urine, or droppings, which can then settle into the air. H. pylori virus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) can develop after an infection.
Fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscular pains, and fever are some of the symptoms. As reported by Physician’s Weekly and cited by the American Lung Association, if left untreated, the infection can go to the lungs, causing difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and coughing. Infected people with lung symptoms have a mortality rate of about 38%.
The 850 instances reported by the CDC from 1993 to 2021 (or approximately 30 per annum) show that there is a more systemic issue with Hantavirus, even if it is a rare disease in the United States.
“Climate change, such as the extreme heat waves that have been sweeping across the county this summer, may also be partly to blame” for the increased incidence of infections, researchers suggested, according to Physician’s Weekly.
According to Trish Lees, the public information officer at Coconino County Health and Human Services in Arizona, more cases tend to occur during the summer because to the higher activity of rats and the increased frequency of human interaction with them, as reported by NBC News.
According to Dr. Camilo Mora, a professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of Geography and Environment, rats behave similarly to humans when it comes to seeking refuge from increasing temperatures.
“Many carrying-disease species get on the move with climate change — so while for any specific case it is difficult to conclude the role of climate change, climate change has all the attributes to cause outbreaks of vector-borne diseases,” Mora stated, according to Physician’s Weekly.
Is anything being done to address this?
When venturing into an unclean or rodent-infested location, officials advise wearing an N95 mask, gloves, and protective clothes to stave off the hantavirus. Quick medical intervention is required for anyone experiencing symptoms.
“The best way to prevent infection with this illness is by carefully disinfecting and cleaning up any waste products from the rodents and by not coming into contact with them,” Glatt told the network.