Colorado Confirms 1 Fatal Hantavirus Case in Douglas County as State Death Toll Reaches 47
Updated
Updated · 9News.com KUSA · May 15
Colorado Confirms 1 Fatal Hantavirus Case in Douglas County as State Death Toll Reaches 47
5 articles · Updated · 9News.com KUSA · May 15
A Douglas County adult died from hantavirus, and Colorado health officials said the infection appears tied to local rodent exposure rather than the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak.
State and county investigators are tracing the source of exposure, though officials said the risk to the general public remains low.
Colorado records Sin Nombre hantavirus cases regularly in spring and summer; the virus is carried locally by deer mice and can cause severe respiratory disease.
Since surveillance began in 1993, Colorado has logged 132 Sin Nombre cases and 47 deaths, and officials said the virus has not been shown to spread person to person.
In one of America's healthiest counties, why does a deadly rodent-borne virus continue to pose a fatal threat to residents?
As hantavirus evolves in local wildlife, are current prevention methods enough to protect Colorado’s expanding suburban communities?