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Risk of hantavirus low in Will, Kankakee, Kendall counties · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Risk of hantavirus low and Will, Kankakee, Kendall Counties. Written
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  Speaker 1: by Denise Unland. This article is being read by an
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  Speaker 1: automated voice brought to you by Everlett. The Illinois Department
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  Speaker 1: of Public Health recently investigated a potential hantavirus case in
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  Speaker 1: a Winnebago County resident not connected to the MV Hondias
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  Speaker 1: cruise ship. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention performed
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  Speaker 1: confirmatory testing, which did not detect hantavirus. IDPH said on Tuesday,
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  Speaker 1: and the risk of getting hantavirus remains very low for
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  Speaker 1: Illinois residents, according to IDPH. In fact, officials at Will,
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  Speaker 1: Kendall or Kankakee Counties have not identified any confirmed cases
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  Speaker 1: of hantavirus in the last five years, nor has Kendall
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  Speaker 1: County identified any recent trends or clusters of hantavirus, said
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  Speaker 1: Sarah carntonis Director of Community Health. The same as true
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  Speaker 1: in Will County. We may have investigated a few suspected
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  Speaker 1: exposures related to travel or activities in the wild, but
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  Speaker 1: no cases have been confirmed in the recent past, said
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  Speaker 1: al Pesh Patel, chief epidemiologist at Will County Health Department. Furthermore, locally,
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  Speaker 1: no suspected cases investigated were related to the recent cruise
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  Speaker 1: ship outbreak. He said. What is hantavirus? Hantaviruses are a
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  Speaker 1: group of zoonozotic viruses that infect rodents. The rodent transmits
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  Speaker 1: the virus to humans through their urine droppings, saliva, or,
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  Speaker 1: less commonly, their bites. According to the World Health Organization,
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  Speaker 1: only the Andes strain, the one associated with the m
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  Speaker 1: V Hondia's cruise ship can be spread from person to person.
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  Speaker 1: The North American strain of the hantavirus is not spread
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  Speaker 1: from person to person. Symptoms, which begin one to eight
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  Speaker 1: weeks after exposure include abdominal pain, fever, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting. Unfortunately,
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  Speaker 1: many of these symptoms also occur in influence z COVID
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  Speaker 1: nineteen viral pneumonia, and even sepsis, making an early diagnosis
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  Speaker 1: of hantavirus challenging. Carantona said, coughing, shortness of breath, and
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  Speaker 1: chest tightness may occur four to ten days in the
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  Speaker 1: virus initial phase. If you suspect hantavirus, see a physician
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  Speaker 1: immediately and mentioned potential rodent exposure She said hantavirus may
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  Speaker 1: also affect the kidneys, hamorrhagic fever with renal syndrome one
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  Speaker 1: to two weeks after exposure. Carantoni said laboratory tests can
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  Speaker 1: confirm the diagnosis according to WHO, and must be confirmed
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  Speaker 1: by the CDC. According to the IDPH, Unfortunately, hantaviruses found
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  Speaker 1: in North America, including the Andes virus, may rapidly progress
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  Speaker 1: to hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome and cause cough, shortness of breath,
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  Speaker 1: fluid in the lungs, and shock, according to WHO. The
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  Speaker 1: sin nombree virus is the primary cause of cardiopulmonary syndrome
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  Speaker 1: in North America according to the Centers for Disease Control,
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  Speaker 1: and although so cardiopulmonary syndrome is rare, the fatality rate
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  Speaker 1: is up to fifty percent, WHO said. The Centers for
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  Speaker 1: Disease Control also said that some hantaviruses, particularly the synombrevirus,
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  Speaker 1: naturally occur in the US, with infections increasing during spring
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  Speaker 1: and summer. These naturally occurring handaviruses do not spread person
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  Speaker 1: to person. A CDC spokesperson said, as we approach these seasons,
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  Speaker 1: you may hear reports of hantavirus infections in the US.
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  Speaker 1: It is important to understand that these routine seasonal cases
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  Speaker 1: are separate from the MV. Hondias outbreak. There is no
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  Speaker 1: vaccine to prevent hantavirus infection and no antiviral medication to
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  Speaker 1: treat it, so care is supportive. According to WHO, how
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  Speaker 1: do people catch hantavirus? In Illinois? The deer mouse is
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  Speaker 1: the primary transmitter of hantavirus and people in rural areas
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  Speaker 1: are at the highest risk since deer mice prefer fields
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  Speaker 1: and forests to highly urbanized locations, According to the Communicable
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  Speaker 1: Disease staff at the Kankakee Health Apartment houses and outbuildings
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  Speaker 1: in these settings are often under constant pressure from rodents
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  Speaker 1: in search of food and nesting places. According to the
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  Speaker 1: Communicable Disease staff, still, any exposure with rodent urine and
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  Speaker 1: feces in homes, campsites, and workplaces can put people at
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  Speaker 1: risk of contracting hantavirus. Carantona said any activities or being
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  Speaker 1: in places or areas that are rodent infested also increases risk.
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  Speaker 1: By touching mice or rats, being in contact with their
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  Speaker 1: droppings or contaminated objects, or inhaling the air in those
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  Speaker 1: areas poses an increased risk, said doctor Dan garginera infectious
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  Speaker 1: disease specialist and medical director of the Will County Health Department. Still,
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  Speaker 1: the risk of catching handavirus is low in Illinois as
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  Speaker 1: compared with the southwestern part of the US, Garganera said.
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  Speaker 1: How to avoid catching hantavirus, residents should keep houses and
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  Speaker 1: outbuildings clean and uncluttered. According to the Communicable disease staff
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  Speaker 1: at the Kankakee Health Department, mopping is preferred to sweeping,
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  Speaker 1: especially when cleaning unattended structures and or where evidence of
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  Speaker 1: mouse infestation is apparent. According to staff, remember to wear
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  Speaker 1: rubber or plastic gloves and a mask and ventilate the
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  Speaker 1: area too, said gargan Era. Droppings and contaminated objects or
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  Speaker 1: areas need to be cleaned using disinfectant or household bleach
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  Speaker 1: according to the manufacturer's recommendations, and rubber gloves need to
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  Speaker 1: be worn during this process. He said. If the area
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  Speaker 1: is grossly contaminated and suspicious for possible presence of hantavirus
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  Speaker 1: infected rodents, don't tackle the job yourself. Hire professionals to
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  Speaker 1: do it. Garganera said. What if I've been exposed, gargan
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  Speaker 1: Era said. People who think they've been exposed to hantavirus
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  Speaker 1: should contact their local health department. Hannavirus testing can then
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  Speaker 1: be done related to the place or exposure, or testing
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  Speaker 1: on the person if symptoms occur, he said. Although the
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  Speaker 1: local risk is low, Patel said raising awareness about hantavirus
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  Speaker 1: transmission is crucial for community health and safety, so that
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  Speaker 1: people understand how the virus spreads and what precautions to take.
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  Speaker 1: But what if the andy strain pops up locally? We
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  Speaker 1: have already reached out to hospital infection control staff to
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  Speaker 1: increase awareness within the hospital setting and ensure that frontline
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  Speaker 1: staff perform appropriate screening for anyone presenting with a travel
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  Speaker 1: history or illness consistent with hand to virus illness. Patel
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  Speaker 1: said the hospital would then notify the health department to
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  Speaker 1: ensure that the proper infection control protocol is followed to
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  Speaker 1: avoid any further exposure in the healthcare settings, Patel said,