Four wild mice collected from routine open-air monitoring in the Campo area have tested positive for hantavirus.
County officials are reminding people to never sweep or vacuum after rodents if they find them in habitable spaces like houses, garages, sheds, and cabins, but instead use “wet cleaning” methods.
Hantavirus is life-threatening, and people are exposed to it when the virus, excreted by wild rodents in urine, feces, and saliva, dries out, flaps in the air, and is inhaled. There is no cure or vaccine for the virus.
Hantavirus is not uncommon in San Diego County. The four wild mice collected in Campo raised the number of rodents that tested positive for hantavirus this year across the county to 22.
Still, people are unlikely to be exposed to the virus because virus carriers, wild rodents, wild mice in particular, generally want to live and nest away from people.
Still, county officials said people should be careful when using wet cleaning methods, with bleach, disinfectants, rubber gloves and bags if they find rodent droppings or other signs that wild rodents have entered habitable spaces and should clean.
Mice collected in the open space at Campo included two California mice, a deer mouse and a brush mouse.
Here are tips for people to avoid exposing themselves to wild rodents and hantaviruses, and how to use wet cleaning methods.
Avoid exposure to hantavirus
- Seal all external holes in houses, garages, and sheds larger than a dime to prevent rodents from entering.
- Eliminate rodent infestations immediately.
- Avoid rodent infested areas and do not shake dust or materials that may be contaminated with rodent droppings and urine.
- Clean rodent droppings and urine using the wet cleaning method described below.
Use “wet cleaning” methods to avoid inhaling the virus
- Do not sweep or vacuum infested areas.
- Ventilate the affected area by opening doors and windows for at least 30 minutes.
- Wear rubber gloves. Spray a 10 percent bleach solution or other disinfectants on dead rodents, rodent droppings, nests, contaminated traps, and surrounding areas, and allow the disinfectant to sit for at least 15 minutes before cleaning.
- Clean with a sponge or mop that has been soaked in disinfectant.
- Place the disinfected rodents and litter in two plastic bags, seal them and dispose of them in the trash.
- Wash the gloves with a bleach solution, then with soap and water, and dispose of them with the same double bag method.
- Wash your hands well with soap and water.
For more information, contact the County Department of Environmental Health (DEH) at (858) 694-2888 or visit the DEH hantavirus website.
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