CS #2 Never Marry a “Neat –Freak”
1. Early symptoms of Hantavirus include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, headaches, dizziness, chills, abdominal problems, and fatigue. Later symptoms are coughing, and shortness of breath. This disease is carried by rodents, especially deer mice and is found in their urine and feces, but it does not make the animal sick. It is believed that humans can get sick with this virus if they come in contact with contaminated dust from mice nests or droppings. Someone may come in contact with such dust when cleaning homes, sheds, or other enclosed areas that have been empty for a long time. There is no specific treatment of Hantavirus, but patients are usually treated in an intensive-care facility and often require respiratory support (intubation). Experimentally, physicians have administered the antiviral medication called ribavirin, but there are no clear data currently that verify that the drug is effective against the disease. The earlier the patient is brought in to intensive care, the better. If a patient is experiencing full distress, it is less likely the treatment will be effective.
2. The chance of being exposed to Hantavirus is greatest when people enter enclosed spaces where rodents are actively living. The virus can become airborne through stirring up virus-contaminated particles, such as by sweeping. The mice or rodents must have been living in the unused cabin, and when the patient and his “ultimate neat-freak” girlfriend started cleaning the obviously dusty and dirty environment, he must have come in contact with infected rodent droppings or nests.
3. I don’t think this is a sound policy even based off of the death of this patient. It is still important to stay clean and make sure that rodents don’t invade your home. The attending physician should still clean his house very well, and if cleaning rodent droppings or nest, be sure to wear proper protective masks and attire.
4. Hantavirus is connected to New Mexico because of the 1993 outbreak that occurred when 83 people became infected with it. It was the first ever known human cases of Hantavirus in the United States, and occurred within the Four Corners region of the southwestern part of the country (This region is the geographic intersection where the corners of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet). The geographical distribution of the rodent hosts generally determines the area in which Hantavirus disease is endemic. It is only found in the southwest because the deer mouse is found throughout woodlands, and desert areas. During the 1993 outbreak, The Four Corners area had been in a drought for several years. Then, in early 1993, heavy snows and rainfall helped drought-stricken plants and animals to revive and grow in larger-than-usual numbers. The area's deer mice had plenty to eat, and as a result there were ten times more mice as usual. With so many mice, it was more likely that mice and humans would come into contact with one another, and therefore more likely that the Hantavirus carried by the mice would be transmitted to humans.