1 / 15

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation Public Health Nursing Department and Navajo Nation Department of Health Tuba City Community Health Representatives. Hantavirus Definition.

tremain
Download Presentation

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. HantavirusPulmonary Syndrome (HPS) Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation Public Health Nursing Department and Navajo Nation Department of Health Tuba City Community Health Representatives

  2. Hantavirus Definition • Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a rare but serious, sometimes deadly, respiratory disease in humans caused by infection with hantavirus. • The hantavirus is carried in the urine, saliva or feces of infected rodents such as rats, squirrels, chipmunks, and other types of mice.

  3. History Hantavirus is named for the Hantan River area in South Korea where an early outbreak occurred in the 1970’s. Hantavirus has been documented in 34 of the 50 states in the United States. In 1993, hantavirus was seen in the Four Corner’s Area on the Navajo reservation.

  4. Who is at Risk? • Person living, visiting, or working in places with rodents infestations. • People who have moved into empty homes where rodents may have been. • Individuals who enter or clean outdoor buildings, storage sheds or shacks where rodents are likely to live.

  5. Hantavirus Exposure: • Breathing in the virus. This may happen when rodent urine and droppings containing the hantavirus are stirred up into the air. • Touching eyes, nose or mouth after touching rodent droppings, urine of nesting material containing the virus. • A bite from an infected rodent.

  6. Signs and Symptoms Early Symptoms: • Fevers (101° – 104° F) • Headaches or dizziness • Chills • Muscle Aches • Stomach Aches or pain • Weakness If any of these symptoms appear, seek medical attention immediately. Late Symptoms: • Shortness of breath • Difficulty breathing After exposure to hantavirus, a person can get sick between 7 days and 3 weeks after getting the virus.

  7. Prevention • Eliminate or minimize contact with rodents in your home, work place, outdoors sheds or campsite. • There’s an easy way to do this: Seal up! Trap up! Clean up! Seal up holes inside and outside the home to keep rodents out. Trap rodents around the home to help reduce the population. Keep your home clean. Clean up any food that is easy to get to.

  8. Here’s what YOU can do: Keep your home clean. Wash dishes and clean up after meals. Get rid of indoor and outdoor junk and clutter. Keep woodpiles or hay bales as far away as possible from your home. Dispose of garbage in trash cans with tight-fitting lids. Do not leave pet food out.

  9. Cleaning Recommendations If you find dead rodents, rodent nests, food piles, or rodent droppings or urine do not sweep or use vacuum cleaners, instead do the following: Open doors and windows of the building for at least 1 hour before cleaning. Gather the following items to clean:

  10. Cleaning Recommendations Prepare cleaning disinfectant mixture: 3. Pour 1 and a half cups of liquid bleach and add it to 1 gallon of water in a bucket. Then pour into a spray bottle. 4. Before cleaning, if you have a mask, put on the mask to cover your nose and mouth. Using the disinfectant mixture, thoroughly spray dead rodents, droppings, rodent nests, or rodent food piles and soak for 15 minutes. Spray surrounding area with flea spray BEFORE starting clean up.

  11. Cleaning Recommendations 5. After disinfecting wear rubber gloves to clean up the droppings with disposable materials, such as paper towels or rags. 6. Seal all materials, droppings or nests in double plastic bags , then burn and bury it deep in the ground, so that pets won’t dig it up. 7. If you use reusable gloves, wash them with your bleach mixture and use soap and water. Also, disinfect and allow to air dry any tools or utensils that you have used.

  12. Frequently Asked Questions When do hantavirus cases occur? During all months of the year, but the greatest number of cases has been documented in the spring and summer months. There is evidence that periods of high rain and snowfall have more cases.

  13. Frequently Asked Questions Can hantavirus be transferred from person to person? There have been no cases in which a person got the infection from another person. -You cannot get the virus from touching or kissing a person -You cannot get the virus through transferring of blood

  14. Frequently Asked Questions Can pets transfer the hantavirus to humans? Hantavirus is not known to be carried by any other types of animals except for certain rodents. Dogs and cats are not known to carry hantavirus; however may bring an infected rodent into contact with people if they catch and carry them into a home.

  15. Questions For More Information Contact: Angie Maloney or Lyndon Endischee Environmental Health Services 928-283- 2844

More Related