Colorado Confirms 1st Hantavirus Death Since 2024 as Sin Nombre Risk Rises in Spring
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · May 20
Colorado Confirms 1st Hantavirus Death Since 2024 as Sin Nombre Risk Rises in Spring
12 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · May 20
Colorado logged its first confirmed hantavirus death since 2024, tracing the Douglas County case to the endemic Sin Nombre strain rather than the Andes strain tied to the MV Hondius outbreak.
Local rodent exposure is the likely source, officials said, with deer mice and their droppings posing the main risk during spring cleaning, barn work and other outdoor chores.
Sin Nombre does not spread person to person, and authorities said the public risk remains low while the investigation continues.
Colorado recorded 121 hantavirus infections and 45 deaths from 1993 to 2023; neighboring New Mexico reported 129 cases and 54 deaths over the same period.
Symptoms can emerge up to six weeks after exposure and often include severe leg, hip and back pain before the virus rapidly inflames the lungs and heart.
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