Trigger warning- Hantavirus Scare!!!

[Sharon123]

This is a little gross but, we have mice in our garage and I accidentally stepped in mouse droppings. Of course I googled what the dangers of mouse droppings were and I found all these awful articles about this dreadful disease called hantavirus and how people DIE from it! I read a story about a boy who just went on vacation and then came home with this disease from mice and almost died because he couldn't breathe! And now I am so scared I breathed in the disease and that I will get it!
Someone please help!

[MyNameIsTerry]

We probably tread on mouse poo constantly without ever knowing it as they are everywhere outside.

There are some regions in the US where it is more prevalent. Are you in these areas to be this concerned about it?

[AnxiouslyScared]

Hello Sharon. I had a similar scare about 5 weeks back. I have a post called "mouse dropping" I reassured myself by telling myself the same thing that Terry mentioned, we all come into contact with mouse poop through out our days. 5 weeks is the incubation period and I recently came down with a cold. But I had completely forgotten about my worry about the hantavirus mostly because I knew I was sick because I got it from my children. My Dr had told me not to worry about hantavirus since it's mostly in new Mexico

---------- Post added at 01:36 ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 ----------

This was posted on my thread by Thoughts. It was really helpful.

QUOTE=Thoughts;1508272]This was one of my more interesting anxieties. Here's my story. I went backpacking in the area north of Yosemite national park in August or so. I was hanging out near a rock, sitting on it. I started picking up little pieces of pebbles and stuff, and picked up a mouse turd. I thought, jeez that's gross, but didn't think much more about it. I then went on to eat snack foods without washing my hands.

Fast forward three weeks. I wake up with a viral headache, serious body aches, and a fever. I proceed to have a terrible virus, like a massive flu but in August before flu season. Doctor google tells me I have either Plague or Hanta Virus. I rule plague out after reading extensively on epidemiology and mode of transmission along with a deep study of incubation time. Simply put, I'd have been sick sooner if it were plague.

Here's the thing, there was an active plague outbreak in ground squirrels in the area I had been backpacking, and the deer mice in that region are known to be infected with Hanta at a rate of 80%. And, I got a massive viral like illness, within the time frame that Hanta would be expected.

I counted down the days until I would get fluid filing up my lungs and a gruesome death. If I made it to day 10, I was likely to survive. Well that was some number of months back and here I am. It turned out to be a serious virus which put me on my ass for nearly two weeks. But it was not Hanta.

I did go to my GP because the body aches were sole crushing. I spit out my concern and she reassured me.

Here's what I'd say. You don't have Hanta because: (1) it is not that common in Texas; (2) Hanta occurs mostly in the spring; (3) mostly during sweeping which disturbs massive amounts of the virus into the air; (4) it is rapidly killed by sunlight so it mostly persists in dark sheds, but only for a day even then; (5) most infections occur where there is massive infestation with piles of feces; and (6) it is freaking rare for humans to be infected probably because the molecules are heavy and the disease transmission vector is ineffective. Like in all of history in the us 100 people have died from it.

Could it happen? Its theoretically possible, but so incredibly unlikely that you're more likely to get struck by lightening while having a heart attack and being struck by a truck at the same time.[/QUOTE]

[mourningdove]

Hantavirus is mostly the southwest. It's also like mega rare. And you would have had to live with those rodents for a loooooong time. You should be okay:) Try to get rid of the mice though, simply because they'll chew on stuff and possibly find their way into your food stores. When I was in Uganda studying abroad the family I lived with had a bat and some mice just like chilling in the house. I was like lol, i'm gonna die here. I'm fine and they were fine but I definitely know the feeling. It's also not transferable by fomites, which means it's not particularly virulent; it wouldn't be able to survive on like your shoes or anything.