U.S. officials sound worldwide alert for Yosemite hantavirus risk
Four of those known to be infected at Yosemite this summer slept in the insulated tent cabins. One slept elsewhere in Curry Village, located in a valley beneath the iconic Half Dome rock formation, and the sixth case remains under investigation.
One man from northern California and another from Pennsylvania died, while three victims have recovered and a fourth remains hospitalized, the state Department of Public Health said.
Nearly 4 million people visit Yosemite each year, attracted to the park’s dramatic scenery and hiking trails. Roughly 70 percent of those visitors congregate in Yosemite Valley, where Curry Village is located.
Hantavirus is carried in viral particles inhaled from rodent feces and urine. People also can be infected by eating contaminated food, touching contaminated surfaces or being bitten by infected rodents.
If you live in the Americas, you should know about Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). HPS is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the hantavirus, a Biosafety Level 4 pathogen that you can probably find in your own back yard. Without prompt care, HPS is typically fatal, and nearly one-half of all hantavirus-infected individuals have died.
I am trying to provide this site as a basic HPS resource, to help educate the general public about Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome and its prevention. While I don’t expect you, the reader, to devour every word in this site, I do have one simple hope in mind: to have you achieve a greater “HPS awareness”. Know that the hantavirus is out there. Know how it is spread. Know how you are most likely to get infected. And know that if you contract the disease, it can kill you.
Currently, hantavirus education in North America is appalingly low. Fortunately, HPS is a rare disease, but it can affect anyone, and it should be acknowledged for its hazards. HPS is very simple to prevent: simply knowing a few key things about the hantavirus and its methods of contagion can drastically reduce your risks of ever contracting the disease.
Hantavirus previously infected two Yosemite visitors, one in 2000 and another in 2010, but at higher elevations.
What is Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is an infectious respiratory disease endemic to North and South America. It is caused by a virus generally known as the hantavirus. While the disease is frequently fatal, is can be very easily prevented.
The hantavirus has a reputation for being a “rare” virus, which is a clear misunderstanding. In the United States, the virus is ubiquitous, being found in over half of the lower 48 states. In fact, cases of the disease have occured in at least thirty states.
The disease itself is considered rare, as the virus is not very infectious except under certain circumstances. As such, when someone contracts HPS, the incident is frequently considered to be a random “freak accident”.
In this regard, contracting the hantavirus is very similar to being struck by lighting: (a) it doesn’t happen very often, (b) it is worth avoiding, and (c) it can be prevented very easily if you understand how it works.
What is the hantavirus?
A “hantavirus” belongs to a group of RNA virii related to the family Bunyaviridae and, depending on its nature, may be the etiological agent for one of two acute illnesses: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). The HFRS-causing hantavirii are endemic to east Asia, while HPS-causing hantavarii are endemic to the New World. But like all virii, their distributions are only dictated by the range of their natural hosts.
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By Ronnie Cohen
SAN FRANCISCO