Some patients will develop coughing and shortness of breath within a few days. Others may go for as long as a week with the other symptoms before developing a cough and shortness of breath, followed by the abrupt onset of respiratory distress, often severe and fatal. Mortality is about 40 to 50 percent of people who get HPS disease. A person may be exposed to hantavirus by inhaling dust after disturbing nests or breathing in closed spaces inhabited by infected mice. The deer mouse can have the virus without showing any signs of being sick.
Deer mice spread the virus in their urine, saliva, droppings, and nesting materials.
The deer mouse is about six inches long to the tip of its tail. It is yellowish brown to grayish white on top, has a white belly and feet, large ears, and a furry tail that is white on the underside. Deer mice live in all parts of Washington, but mainly in rural areas. Only rodents carry the virus. Keep mice away from your home and workplace.