The man died in May at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, Wis., after a short illness. State and local public health officials are investigating to determine how the man became infected.
People can take precautions to minimize the risk of becoming infected.
These include avoiding contact with wild rodents, keeping pests from their homes and buildings through the use of rodent-proofing techniques and indoor pest control, and cleaning areas where you find signs of rodent infestation. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a serious, often deadly respiratory disease, which may develop between five and 42 days after exposure to the virus. The primary symptom is difficulty breathing due a fluid build-up in the lungs. There have been 139 cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome diagnosed in 25 states since May 1993, when the first cases were reported in the Southwest. There have been 70 deaths attributed to hantavirus.