Hantavirus in Yosemite
#1
FRESNO, Calif. — Up to 10,000 people who were guests in certain lodging cabins at Yosemite National Park might have been exposed to a deadly mouse-borne virus, park officials confirmed Friday as rangers handled a slew of calls from frightened visitors.

Park concessionaire Delaware North Co. sent letters and emails this week to nearly 3,000 people who reserved the insulated “Signature” cabins between June and August, warning them that they might have been exposed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/e...story.html

By 'tent cabins' do they mean yurts? Anybody camping in a yurt may want to check around for mice nests. Gosh, this is scary.
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#2
No, Tennis Mom. Not the Yurts. Smiling

Yurts have single wall construction, which doesn't provide harborage to mice. The "cabins" at Yosemite were double-walled tents, with a space between the two outer walls for insulation. The mice found that space to be happy harborage, so that's why the special threat of hantavirus for visitors that stayed in those cabins. I know you have a phobia about that sort of thing, so I want to set your mind at rest. Smiling

BTW, the flying ants you mentioned on another thread were most likely of no real concern either. I had a nest of them that sent out winged ants one couple week period every springtime for several years, I think the concrete slab was poured over an old stump or roots possibly. They were mainly a cosmetic problem, and I finally got rid of them too (by pouring diatomaceous earth down the crack they were coming from every year). The ants caused no structural harm, and sending a swarm off every spring is how they reproduce. It's not something to be overly fearful of (unless, that building had wet wood in the vicinity, indicating a leak of some kind).
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#3
Hantavirus is some scary stuff, any time I clean up mouse droppings I act like I may be exposed to it. I had people laugh at me when we were living in OR when I saw mouse dropping I would freak I would cover my face with a mask and use gloves and use a mix of bleach and water and spray the dropping down. I was so careful. But I was also Living in NM when it was first discovered.
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#4
I have to say I am freaked out by living where mouse poop and urine resides as well. I practically gave an RV away because I couldn't keep the mice out and I was repulsed by all the droppings and the hidden cavities they could access.
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#5
When it makes it to Josephine county, Many will be exposed.
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#6
Okay, so yurts aren't Mouse Heaven, that's good to know. Not that I've ever slept in one. Bears can break into those things, like tents. Eek!

What is amazing about this story is the number of people involved; thousands! I really hope that not too many of them get sick.

Seeing a mouse skittering across a floor would be enough to make me exercise my lung capacity at extremely high decibel levels. That was before I knew about Hantavirus. Neutral

My sister has a beach house that is on stilts. There was a leak under the refrigerator which went right down into the insulation under the house. As the repair dudes were pulling out the insulation, they found mouse droppings. Maybe I should call her and tell her to watch out for Hantavirus. OMG, we stayed in that house for three weeks. Should we be worried? Confused
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#7
Mice are everywhere outside the envelope of your house. All you can do is keep them out of the interior. As long as the mice don't have a way inside, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Smiling
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#8
(09-02-2012, 10:58 AM)TennisMom Wrote: Okay, so yurts aren't Mouse Heaven, that's good to know. Not that I've ever slept in one. Bears can break into those things, like tents. Eek!

What is amazing about this story is the number of people involved; thousands! I really hope that not too many of them get sick.

Seeing a mouse skittering across a floor would be enough to make me exercise my lung capacity at extremely high decibel levels. That was before I knew about Hantavirus. Neutral

My sister has a beach house that is on stilts. There was a leak under the refrigerator which went right down into the insulation under the house. As the repair dudes were pulling out the insulation, they found mouse droppings. Maybe I should call her and tell her to watch out for Hantavirus. OMG, we stayed in that house for three weeks. Should we be worried? Confused

It is only a particular type of mice I think, and you have to breathe in the droppings.
read this,
http://www.hantavirus.net/
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#9
Dust from the droppings
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#10
I've crawled through more attics and under houses with mouse dropping than the law should allow and I'm still here.
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#11
Yes but look at you. Smiling
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#12
(09-02-2012, 07:14 PM)PonderThis Wrote: Yes but look at you. Smiling

OK then. look at me. Strong as an OX. here I am working out...

[Image: skinny_man.jpg]
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#13
HantaVirus is new, They didn't have it around when you crawled around in attics.
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#14
(09-02-2012, 07:24 PM)chuck white Wrote: HantaVirus is new, They didn't have it around when you crawled around in attics.

A couple years ago it wasn't around?
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#15
(09-02-2012, 07:21 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(09-02-2012, 07:14 PM)PonderThis Wrote: Yes but look at you. Smiling

OK then. look at me. Strong as an OX. here I am working out...

[Image: skinny_man.jpg]

Well now you've done it. We won't see Jan(?) around again. Laughing
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#16
Aren't mice more likely to come into your house during cold weather? I hope so, then I can just close up the joint and not worry. The idea of breathing in the dust from mouse droppings really turns my stomach. Eww, yuck, gross.
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#17
(09-02-2012, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(09-02-2012, 07:24 PM)chuck white Wrote: HantaVirus is new, They didn't have it around when you crawled around in attics.

A couple years ago it wasn't around?

Relatively new-ish. There was a virus during the Korean war that was ultimately linked to the HTNV virus. Then again in 1993 in the 4 corners area. Some scientist even theorize that some unknown middle ages sicknesses (sweating sickness) may have in fact been some sort of Hanta Virus. Having recently discovered it doesn't make it "new". Only our knowledge of it.
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#18
I read they found evidence of it having killed people in the U.S. as far back as 1959 but they didn't know what it was at the time. The native Americans were aware of a mouse-carried disease long before that.
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#19
(09-02-2012, 07:24 PM)chuck white Wrote: HantaVirus is new, They didn't have it around when you crawled around in attics.

It has been around since 93. It is not that new.

It was diagnosed in NM back then. It was pretty scary . because no one had any idea what it was and what caused it. And when they did there was a whole list of things to do.
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#20
1993 is new when it comes to deceases. it's slowly making it's way out of four corners.
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