State and local health officials are urging residents to take precautions when entering cabins, trailers and other buildings that may be infested with rodents. The warning followed the death of an Elko resident from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
The state's Health Division is investigating the Elko resident's contraction of the virus.
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Eleven mice near the Cold Creek area in Clark County have tested positive for hantavirus, a viral disease that is carried by rodents, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.
The virus is transmitted when people breathe dust contaminated with mouse urine or droppings.
Person-to-person spread of hantavirus is unlikely. And health officials said that although hantavirus is rare, it is often fatal.
Although no mice have tested positive for the virus in the Las Vegas Valley, health officials want residents to be more aware.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome was discovered in the United States in 1993. Since that time there have been 438 human cases in the nation with 18 in Nevada.
Roughly 35 percent of all cases have resulted in death, health officials say.
To prevent exposure, health officials suggest:
• Reducing the availability of food and nesting sites for rodents in the home.
• Keeping food (including pet food) and water covered and stored in rodent-proof metal or thick plastic containers with tight-fitting lids.
• Storing garbage in rodent-proof metal or thick plastic containers with tight-fitting lids.
