Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy

 

October 16, 2009

 

With cold weather we have gotten outside, the threat of Hantavirus increases.  Hantavirus is caused by a virus carried by rodents.  With the cooler temperatures, rodents are starting to move indoors.  Hantavirus can result in Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) which causes the lungs to fill with fluid and can cause respiratory failure.  It was first detected in 1993 in the southwestern United States.  Since 1993, approximately 440 cases have been reported in the nation.  South Dakota has reported 13 cases since 1993, 69% of which have been East River and 31% West River.

How is the virus spread?  The virus is shed by infected rodents in their urine, droppings, and saliva.  When fresh rodent urine, droppings, or nesting materials are stirred up, tiny dust particles containing the virus get into the air which people then inhale.  This disease cannot be spread from person-to-person.  This virus does not affect pets or livestock.

Hantavirus symptoms include:  flu-or West Nile virus-like symptoms, fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, coughing, and shortness of breath.  People exposed to Hantavirus may show symptoms within two weeks of exposure.

Safety precautions are a must when cleaning up nesting areas or droppings.  Bleach, sunlight, and household disinfectants will stop the virus, which remains viable at room temperature for two to three days.  Vacuum cleaners and brooms should not be used in an area suspected to contain rodents, since they help the virus become suspended in the air.  Use a bleach solution or disinfectant first, then mop or wipe the area with a sponge.

Rodent control in and around the home is the best way to prevent Hantavirus infection.  Eliminate or minimize contact with rodents in the home and especially when cleaning outbuildings.  Follow these precautions from the South Dakota Department of Health:

Indoors

1. Use steel wool, cement, wire screen, or other patching materials to seal all entry holes ¼ inch or larger (the size of a dime) around roofs, attics, basements, windows, doors, foundations, vents, air conditioners, and under sinks and other pipes.  Note, if you trap inside your home, but do NOT seal up rodent entry holes, new rodents will enter.
2. Keep a clean home, especially the kitchen.  Wash dishes, clean counters and floor, keep food covered in rodent-proof containers.
3. Keep a tight-fitting lid on garbage; discard uneaten pet food at the end of the day.
4. Set and keep spring-loaded rodent traps near baseboards because rodents tend to run along walls and tight spaces rather than out in the open.  Before setting trap, treat area with flea killer.
5. Set EPA-approved rodenticide with bait under plywood or plastic shelter along baseboards.  Follow product use instructions carefully, since rodenticides are poisonous to pets and people, too.

Outdoors

1. Clear brush, grass, and junk from around the house to eliminate a source of nesting materials.  Use thick plastic or metal containers with tight lids for garbage and for storing pet food.
2. Use metal flashing 12″ above to 6″ down into the ground around the base of wooden, earthen, or adobe homes to provide a strong barrier.
3. If possible, locate hay, woodpiles, and garbage cans 100 feet or more from the house and elevate at least 12″ off the ground.
4. Trap or poison rodents outdoors too.  Just be sure to keep poisons out of the reach of children or pets.

Clean up

1. When going into cabins or other outbuildings that may be infested open them up and air them out for at least 30 minutes before cleaning.
2. Wear latex rubber gloves.  Don’t stir up dust.  Thoroughly wet contaminated areas with detergent, general purpose disinfectant, or 10% household bleach solution (1½ cups of household bleach per gallon of water).  Once everything is wet, mop or sponge up. Don’t use vacuum cleaners or brooms, since they may create aerosols.
3. Spray dead rodents, urine or droppings with a disinfectant or the bleach solution from step 2.  Soak for 5 minutes before wiping up with a paper towel or rag.  Place cleaning materials, mouse, trap and nesting materials in a plastic bag and seal it.  Place in a second bag and seal that as well.
4. Wash gloved hands with soap and water before removing gloves; after taking off gloves, thoroughly wash hands with soap and water.
5. For heavy rodent infestations, seek help from professional exterminators.

For more information visit the South Dakota Department of Health’s website at http://doh.sd.gov/Hantavirus/default.aspx. 

For your information:    A dairy energy efficiency workshop is set for October 28, 2009 at the Brookings County Resource Center, located in the Swiftel Center Complex, just east of Interstate 29 in Brookings, S.D.  The workshop is free and starts at 10 a.m.  To register, call Extension Educators Jon Kieckhefer at (605) 696-8280, or Tracey Renelt at (605) 854-3851. 

Make plans now for the I-29 Dairy Conference which will take place on January 21-22, 2010 in Sioux Falls, S.D. at the Best Westeren Ramkota Inn & Conference Center, 3200 W. Maple Street.  Registration starts at 3:30 p.m. on January 21, 2010 and costs $ 20 per person and includes materials and lunch.  Those who wish to register may also mail contact information and payment to Valerie Denison, SDSU Dairy Science Box 2104, Dairy Microbiology Building, Room 109, Brookings, SD 57007.