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Deadly Hantavirus Found in Park Mice PORTLAND, OR (OPB) - (Oregon Considered) - Researchers at Portland State University have found a deadly strain of the hantavirus among mice in at least two city parks. But even though about forty percent of people who contract the hantavirus die from its effects, researchers and health officials believe there's little cause for city residents to be concerned.

Ten years ago, no one in this country knew much about hantavirus and the syndrome it causes. Since then, over 330 people have gotten hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and nearly forty percent of those people have died. According to the Centers for Disease Control, most of the cases across the country have been in rural areas.

People in rural areas typically contract the virus by inhaling dust that's come in contact with deer mouse feces and urine. But Portland State Biologist Luis Ruedes says his discovery of the hantavirus in the city did not surprise him.

Luis Ruedes: So if you find the host in a given area and the host is the deer mouse - Peromyscus maniculatus - then it stands to reason you also should find the virus because it's a natural virus. It occurs in these mice completely naturally. It has absolutely no effect on the mice - or if anything it's beneficial. So if the host is present, you would expect to find the virus, and indeed, we have."

In Portland, Ruedes has used Tryon Creek Park and Forest Park to find the deer mice close to an urban center. But Ruedes says because of the deer mice's penchant for woods, they're unlikely to come into urban areas.

Luis Ruedes: I don't think that you would expect to find the mice leaving the parks too much. I mean it could happen, if there's some sort of depression within the park in terms of their food, they could move around and try to find food elsewhere. Typically, they prefer to be in the woods.

Ruedes began his research into the hantavirus in Panama in 1999. Since then, he has been up close and personal with the virus for years without getting sick. Ruedes takes precautions such as wearing gloves when handling rodents.

Health officials recommend people who come in contact with rodents--especially deer mice--take similar precautions, if they can't avoid the rodents altogether. Oregon's top veterinarian, Dr. Emilio DeBess, says that people should be careful around mice because completely getting rid of them isn't an option.

Emilio DeBess: Prevention does not mean kill all the mice in your neighborhood. But just means if you find them, try to get rid of them. Make sure that your house is protected against them and that if you find any droppings that you treat them properly without the possibility of becoming infected.

Typical symptoms for the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome are flu-like: fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, followed by headaches and shortness of breath. Neither Ruedes nor Dr. DeBess believes there's any significant risk of a hantavirus outbreak in Portland.

Since the virus was identified in 1993, Oregon has seen five people get hantavirus - three of them died. There have been no cases reported in the state since 1998. © Copyright 2012, OPB