It’s spring cleaning season, and as people begin clearing out sheds, garages and seasonal cabins, medical professionals are reminding residents to take precautions to avoid exposure to hantavirus.
Hantavirus is a lung infection caused by breathing in contaminated airborne particles found in the saliva, urine and droppings of rodents — most commonly deer mice in Saskatchewan. People can also become infected by coming into contact with contaminated dust, touching rodent urine, saliva or droppings, or being bitten by an infected mouse.
When cleaning enclosed areas that may have been contaminated by rodents, medical health officer Dr. Hortense Tabien recommends wearing a respirator and using wet cleaning methods.
“When you do wet washing, you’re actually having things settle down, so that really minimizes exposure to the dust. But people should wear an N95 respirator when cleaning up droppings,” Tabien said.
Symptoms of hantavirus include muscle aches, headaches, fatigue and fever, which usually appear within two to three weeks of exposure.
However, Tabien said a greater concern is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which can develop within a few days of the initial symptoms. It includes shortness of breath, coughing, rapid heartbeat and fast breathing, as a result of fluid buildup in the lungs.
“You want to make sure that if you feel unwell and think you may have been exposed to hantavirus — which is a rodent-borne disease — especially while cleaning your shed or other enclosed areas, you call 811 and get an assessment,” she said.
According to the Government of Saskatchewan, between 1994 and 2022 there were 37 cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the province. Thirteen of those cases resulted in death.
More information about hantavirus can be found on the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Government of Saskatchewan websites.