Arizona public health officials are warning that hantavirus, a virus spread by rodents to humans, is causing an increase in a potentially fatal lung syndrome. There have been seven confirmed cases and three deaths in the past six months, according to a recent health alert.
Most cases of hantavirus are reported in the Western and Southwestern United States. Most states, including California, typically report one to four cases a year. Two people in California have been infected with hantavirus this year.
There’s no specific treatment or vaccine to protect against the infection.
Arizona has one of highest total number of reported infections of hantavirus in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
From 2016-2022, there were 11 hantavirus cases in Arizona — four in 2016, two in 2017, four in 2020 and one in 2022, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“Hantavirus is a rare but important cause of serious, even fatal respiratory infection,” Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital on Long Island, New York, said.
“It is transmitted by various rodents, especially the deer mouse, and can cause mild disease, but it does cause fatal illness in a significant percentage of people who acquire this illness,” he said.
In addition, San Diego County is reporting higher activity in rodents infected with hantavirus this year, with 17 cases of western harvest mice infected with hantavirus. Overall, hantavirus activity can fluctuate year to year and doesn’t appear to be more than usual in the U.S. this year, the California Department of Public Health said.
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