On Saturday April 29, 2006, The Bend Bulletin ran an article on their front page titled VIRUS KILLS LA PINE MAN, 22. That article was about a 22 year-old La Pine resident that died from hantavirus on April 22, 2006.

According to the article this is only the 8th case in Oregon and the 2nd in Deschutes County since the virus was identified in 1993. The other Deschutes County case occurred in 1995. This points out that this disease, while being rare here, can still strike at any time.

The reservoir of this disease in this area is the deer mouse, the most common mouse species in this area. Wet springs, like ours this year, are thought to help amplify the virus activity because of the higher moisture levels in the environment. Also this year appears to be the second year in a row with high deer mouse populations, which means more feces. Humans contract this disease by inhaling the virus contained in mouse feces.

The best preventions against contracting this virus are excluding rodents from your buildings, trapping them and being careful when cleaning up rodent feces and urine. Many humans contract this virus while either sweeping or vacuuming up dry rodent droppings and urine. This causes the virus to become air borne, which can then be inhaled by humans. The recommended way to clean-up rodent droppings is to spray it first them with a 10% bleach solution, then wipe them up carefully. Protective gloves and a respirator are recommended while cleaning.