When fresh urine, droppings, or nesting materials of an infected rodent are stirred up, the virus can get into the air. You can become infected with the virus by breathing in the contaminated air. The virus can also spread when saliva, urine, or feces from an infected animal gets into cuts in a person's skin or their eyes, nose, or mouth.
Early in the illness, symptoms of HPS can include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches. Some people may also experience a headache, dizziness, chills, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. After four to 10 days of these early symptoms, people with HPS will develop a cough and shortness of breath. Non-HPS hantavirus infection can also occur, where patients experience non-specific symptoms that do not affect the lungs.
The best way to prevent hantavirus infections is to eliminate or minimize contact with rodents:
In Vermont, there are two species of rodents that can carry hantavirus: the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) While these mice are common throughout the state, hantavirus is uncommon in Vermont.
Since 1993, only two cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in Vermonters have been reported to the Health Department. In 2014, one out-of-state resident was infected with hantavirus while staying in Vermont and became ill after returning to their home state.
