10,000 At Risk Of Hantavirus, Says CDC, 3,000 Could Die
The virus starts out causing flu-like symptoms, including headache, fever, muscle ache, shortness of breath and cough, and can lead to severe breathing difficulties and death.
The incubation period for the virus is typically two to four weeks after exposure, with a range between a few days and six weeks.
More than a third of cases are fatal!
There is no cure for hantavirus.
People can be infected by breathing contaminated air from infected rodents feces, urine and saliva, or by eating contaminated food or touching contaminated surfaces.
Reuters reports that some 10,000 people may be at risk or infected with the hantavirus, spread from tent cabins at Yosemite National Park in California which were evidently infected with the deadly virus.
Issues of pandemic are often overlooked or ‘out of mind’. Most people never consider the very real possibility of a rapid and very deadly outbreak of a highly contagious virus. Since it has not happened in a severe way during our lifetime, we assume that it will never happen. Looking back in history, it has been extremely devastating to world population.
Although this outbreak of hantavirus may not be the type to set back world population (it apparently does not spread between humans – only via the infected source and affected ‘air’), it should serve as a reminder that we ARE vulnerable to deadly pandemics. Think about how you could be prepared for an outbreak. How would you avoid it, and what would you need to be able to successfully do so?
The answer is ‘fairly’ simple. Avoid people (and / or the source). This means staying isolated (in your home). Which in turn means having enough supplies to survive for a period of time long enough for it to ‘blow over’. Months? Probably. What if it becomes so bad that the power goes out from a lack of maintenance and human intervention? Other utilities? You never know…
There are lots of things to consider regarding pandemic preparedness. Let this current CDC warning regarding the potential infection of 10,000 people with hantavirus and the associated possibility that more than 3,000 of them could die… be a lesson or a wake-up call.
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@All; Every deer mouse in the SW carries the hanta virus. Sorry for the crappy posts, am escorting the missus to her departure for deploying to A’stan….kinda bummed out. Wish she didn’t have to go but that is what you sign up for! Hopefully will.be a short year. Anuway the deer mice, which are kinda cute, are not to be messed with. Otter should speak to this I think. Goes to my posts about hygeine…keep it as clean as you can. OBTW bleach has a “use by” date of about 6 mos. You should buy the pool.powder “hypochlorite” as it will last a lot longer. Survive well. Enjoy.
@TripodXL, Our prayers are with the missus for her safety in Afghanistan.
Regarding bleach, I believe it loses half it’s potency in a year – so double the dose after a year…
@Ken; Thankyou from the memsab. It is with mixed emotions I watch her leave as she and I have similar feelings about serving your country. She came into this later in life than most but was proud to be able to serve. Sorta like “Nana goes to the Stan”. Thank you so much. Survive well. Enjoy.
@TripodXL Prayers for your lady’s safety in Afghanistan…..
Do you think we are seeing alot of virus’s and drug resistant virus’s because of all the antibacterial stuff we use? Just a thought? Some of the oldtimers I know say we are killing off the good stuff and creating superbugs.
@Texasgirl; You know, 20 years ago I would have said BS, but as I have learned more, I have learned that I don’t actually know EVERYTHING, yet! Yes, it seems we have made ourselves too safe from day to day bacteria and viruses. Most kids are kept too clean and I don’t mean you should be slovenly, just don’t exterminate every living unseen creature, except of course in the kitchen. If you think about it, what is going to survive the anti-bacterial soap? The tough ones. Whereas if you let everything survive, the “tough” ones have to survive the others and may not survive them, unless you kill all the competition. The down side to this is that someone will die because of allowing these lesser bugs to survive but that is life and the lesser of two evils. The up side is that more people will live because of that, than will die because of super bugs if they are allowed to be cultivated by our anti-bacterial OCDness. Yeah, we’re killing off too many good bugs. Let the kids eat dirt, pick it up off the floor, get dog slobber in their mouth, etc. Anyway, that’s my take. Thanks for the prayers and thoughtfulness. Survive well. Enjoy.
Ken… glad you mentioned the hantavirus virus. They think it is carried by rodents?
My main concern was lyme disease from the tics that we have here. Between the turkey louse and the deer tics, as they are called, it is impossible to squirrel hunt. Now this virus makes head lines! The rodent problem may become a huge one if the rains come & crops produce exceptionally good. Farms with grain bins ab sheds should keep snakes around for this purpose.
My wife heard a gnawing under the house recently, first time in along time. So without further ado, I set up a feeding station in the basement for the rat poison. I poured three bags into the station. A few days latter, it was all gone. I poured three more bags into the station. A few days latter, it was all gone, so I refilled. The feeding has slowed down, maybe 1/2 left. How much food does a rat eat? As with older homes, mostly with craw spaces and 1/2 basements, some with dirt floors, city sewers, the habitat for rats is a godsend. Can’t keep them out! So , I do the next best thing fatten them up, I guess?