Rat disease with no cure has spread to humans and killed several people, experts warn

Thursday, July 25, 2024 - A rodent disease that can be spread to humans and has no cure has killed several people in the US and prompted a health warning.

Cases of hantavirus, which is spread from rodents to people through viral droplets from handling materials with the animals’ urine, saliva or faeces, are on the rise, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Seven cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome have been confirmed in Arizona. Three of them resulted in death.

The syndrome "is a severe and sometimes fatal respiratory illness caused by the infection with hantavirus," the Arizona Department of Health Services stated in an advisory.

In addition, there have been two hantavirus cases in California and one death.

Symptoms include fever, headache, and muscle aches quickly making it hard to breathe.

Hantavirus has been found mostly in deer mouse in the Grand Canyon state and is not spread on human-to-human contact. But it is not confined to a specific region.

"It can be present in many areas in the southwestern region of the United States where there is rodent activity, even if mice are never seen," the advisory states.

Before the recent hantavirus cases, the last one in Coconino County was reported in 2016.

The syndrome was detected in 1993 after infecting a Navajo tribe residing at the border of Arizona and New Mexico. About 80% of the population died at the time.

Public health officials recommend residents who have experienced rodent activity to follow certain clean-up procedures.