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Re: Hantavirus Kills Third Yosemite National Park Camper
wagga #27534 09/06/12 10:17 PM
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I actually got an email notification today from Yosemite that I may have been exposed when I stayed at the High Sierra Camps in July, and asking me to notify all in my party and to consult with an MD. (Coincidentally, my party consisted of me and another person who happens to be a virologist.)

Re: Hantavirus Kills Third Yosemite National Park Camper
wagga #27641 09/11/12 10:15 AM
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That third victim, from West Virgina, did not stay in the tent cabins at Curry Village.  This report says he visited one or more of the High Sierra camps:  Glenn Aulin, May Lake, Merced Lake, Sunrise and Vogelsang.


From Examiner.com,
Hantavirus Claims Third Yosemite Victim
By: Rick Deutsch

Quote:
Yosemite National Park, CA - September 6, 2012 - A West Virginia man has died of the rodent borne hantavirus. He became the third fatality this summer from this pulmonary disease. The man had stayed in the park's "high-country" in July. He slept at one or more of the famous High Sierra Camps and not the insulated Signature Tent Cabins in Curry Village as other victims have. This fact could increase the risk as many stay in them.

(emphasis added)

Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
Steve C #27686 09/12/12 03:56 PM
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wagga Offline OP
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From the LA Times.

"The results from the second set of mice were not yet complete, but Kramer said about 45% of the traps set in Tuolumne Meadows were successful, up from previous years. In 2007, only 17% of traps were successful; in 2008, 25%.

Some experts have wondered if more deer mice contributed to the Yosemite outbreak, as hantavirus cases in the past have been linked to an abundant population.
"


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
wagga #27688 09/12/12 04:17 PM
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From the article:
> "It's a really unique opportunity to learn about hantavirus because it's so unprecedented," she said.

I'll bet they're working on a vaccine already. Sooner or later, they'll require a proof of hantavaccine prior to making a reservation on the High Sierra Loop or Curry Village tent cabins. :|

Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
Steve C #27692 09/12/12 05:20 PM
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I suspect that, like Giardia, infection depends on exposure to more than some minimum number of agents, and the state of preparedness of the immune system. Imagine taking a liter of water from a polluted stream. One hiker drinks a third of a liter and is OK, the other drinks the rest and we'll leave the results to your imagination. Like Hantavirus, Giardia has a lengthy incubation time.

So we have a situation where, for some reason, the hantamouse population doubles, so any exposure is twice as intense, and the chance of infection is increased exponentially.

This is an interesting discussion, but there is an 800-pound gorilla in the room which hasn't even been mentioned...

Disclosure: I didn't stay at an Express-something hotel last night.


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
wagga #27693 09/12/12 05:37 PM
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That would be an interesting metaphor if you are referring to cimex lectularius. Though I don't think they carry hanta virus.

Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
Akichow #27733 09/13/12 03:12 PM
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CBS is now reporting some big numbers.

"Yosemite National Park has extended its hantavirus warnings to more than 230,000 people who stayed at the park overnight since early June."


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Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
wagga #27734 09/13/12 06:25 PM
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I've now received two separate Yosemite hantavirus notifications that appear to correspond to two separate trips. The first notification was triggered by my mid-July HSC stays. I believe the second notification was triggered by camping reservations I made for August in Tuolumne Meadows through recreation.gov (i.e., no lodge or curry village stay at all).

Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
Akichow #27735 09/13/12 07:02 PM
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wagga Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Akichow
That would be an interesting metaphor if you are referring to cimex lectularius. Though I don't think they carry hanta virus.

If Cimex carried hantavirus, New York would have a million dead tourists.

Sleep tight.


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
wagga #27739 09/13/12 09:49 PM
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The world can always use a better mouse trap.

Re: Yosemite Hantavirus: Mouse Population May Yield Clues
wagga #27747 09/14/12 05:41 AM
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Originally Posted By: wagga

If Cimex carried hantavirus, New York would have a million dead tourists.

Sleep tight.


....and don't let the bed bugs bite

Ninth Victim.
Harvey Lankford #27791 09/16/12 01:22 PM
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There are now 9 confirmed infections. Details here. Actually, not so much, being the Huff, but they do have a nice slideshow.

Kurt has a thoughtful article at National Parks Traveller.


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Re: 1 Man Dead; Possibly Contracted Hantavirus At Yosemite
wagga #27839 09/19/12 09:55 AM
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Quote:
SteveC, CaT & I were there several weeks ago, we didn't stay in the hantavillage, but did enjoy a hantapizza at Curry.

Actually, the second night I was there, I did stay in Curry Village, but in one of the cabins. Then a couple of weeks later, when my wife was out there with me, we also stayed in Curry Village, but again, in one of the cabins.

So far, so good.

The veggie hantapizza was really good, though.

CaT


If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.
- Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)
3000 To Be Tested For Hantavirus At Yosemite
CaT #28159 09/29/12 09:33 AM
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YOSE will now test all 3000 workers. Report here.


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Hantavirus In Yosemite May Be Shape Of Things To Come
wagga #28163 09/29/12 03:06 PM
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Here is some food for thought.

"In 2009, in the category of possible plain bad luck, the park added insulation to some tents to replace winterized cabins destroyed in a massive rock fall in 2008. Unfortunately, mice love to live in insulation, says Gregory Glass, a hantavirus specialist and professor of infectious disease ecology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

"It may just be one of those situations where, historically, when they didn't insulate them, it wasn't that attractive for the mice to sit and stay," he said. "But this one little tweak in the design made just that much of the difference for mice."
"

Murphy was an optimist.


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Hantavirus In Yosemite May Be Shape Of Things To Come
wagga #28451 10/12/12 03:21 PM
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This looks like the real end of this thread, and that's good.

Hantavirus calming at Yosemite.


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Re: 3000 To Be Tested For Hantavirus At Yosemite
wagga #28458 10/12/12 07:43 PM
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Quote:
It's possible that no employees have contracted hantavirus because they have received training about the illness and take more precautions because they are more aware of the risks than park visitors, Buttke said. Employees also don't stay in visitor facilities overnight, she said.


That's an incredibly interesting question -- why haven't any employees/house cleaners shown symptoms?? I don't for a moment believe they're more careful as a result of training! Though, as a side note, when I open a mouse infested ranger station at the beginning of a season, I'll open the door and let it air out; then go in with a clorox/water spray bottle and a HEPA mask; then wipe up all the mouse crap with a wet towel. But I suspect I'm alone, even among rangers, though we've all had Hanta training (tenuous at best).

It'll be interesting to see what the results are in terms of antibodies developed.

g.


None of the views expressed here in any way represent those of the unidentified agency that I work for or, often, reality. It's just me, fired up by coffee and powerful prose.
Re: 3000 To Be Tested For Hantavirus At Yosemite
George #28466 10/12/12 10:15 PM
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I don't think the Hantavirus has been studied enough to have a test to determine whether people can build immunity to it. But I'd bet the Yosemite employees and also backcountry rangers get enough low exposure to it over a period of time that they develop an immunity.

On the other hand, a city-dweller who has never been in a Hanta-environment would have never been exposed, so would be way more susceptible.

Re: 3000 To Be Tested For Hantavirus At Yosemite
Steve C #28479 10/13/12 08:49 AM
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Steve, there are a variety of testing techniques available to public health officials that are not available for commercial use. They definitely have the ability to test for antibodies indicating exposure.

George, are you out for the season?

Re: 3000 To Be Tested For Hantavirus At Yosemite
Ken #28483 10/13/12 10:08 AM
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Yep, I'm out.

A bunch of years ago, someone wanted to do blood tests of backcountry rangers for exposure to, I think, tick borne diseases (at least). Not sure if it included Hanta -- and maybe no test existed for it then anyway. The study was done, but it was too logistically difficult for us to participate. I never followed up to see what they found out. Would be interesting... .


None of the views expressed here in any way represent those of the unidentified agency that I work for or, often, reality. It's just me, fired up by coffee and powerful prose.
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