A serum sample tested positive for hantavirus. This case is the only Texas case that has been confirmed to date. Reports of other cases scattered throughout Texas are being investigated. Some of the patients in these cases died before biologic samples were taken or saved. Consequently, definitive diagnosis of illness in these cases may not be possible.
Rodents are the natural hosts for all known hantaviruses.
Rodents may be chronically infected with hantavirus and excrete the virus for months. There are no documented cases of hantavirus being transmitted from infected patients to health care workers. Anybody with acute shortness of breath should see a physician. The trap and rodent can be disposed of at the same time. Never touch the rodent, its droppings, or its urine with bare hands.