You are here

Roughly 3,000 Yosemite National Park Visitors Contacted About Deadly Hantavirus

Share

With the number of deadly Hantavirus cases possibly linked to guest accommodations at Yosemite National Park climbing, officials have tried to contact roughly 3,000 summer guests to caution them about the disease.

As of Friday, at least six cases of the rodent-borne disease have been documented among park visitors, Yosemite officials said. Two of the six have been fatal, while the other four have either recovered or are recovering, they added. No information on the visitors who were sickened, such as their names, ages, or hometowns, was released.

In a press release park officials said an estimated 3,000 visitors who stayed in the park this summer "have been contacted through email, mail or phone calls" to alert them to the recent Hantavirus outbreak and to advise them to seek immediate medical attention if they exhibit any symptoms of the virus.

"Early medical attention and diagnosis of Hantavirus are critical," said Yosemite Superintenent Don Neubacher in prepared comments. "We urge anyone who may have been exposed to the infection to see their doctor at the first sign of symptoms and to advise them of the potential of hantavirus."

Along with working to reach guests, the park also closed the 91 Signature Tent Cabins, where four of the sickened visitors stayed. The cabins, which were put in use three years ago to partially replace tent cabins lost to rockfalls, are two-walled, and deer mice have been found nesting within the walls.

Phone calls Friday to both park officials and those with DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, which operates the tent cabins, were not immediately returned.

According to a release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "an estimated 10,000" people have stayed in the Signature Tent Cabins this summer. "People who stayed in the tents between June 10 and August 24 may be at risk of developing HPS in the next six weeks," the CDC said.

The National Park Service Office of Public Health has been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "to heighten public health awareness and detection and has issued a call for cases to state and local health departments nationwide," the park release said.

Hantavirus is a rare but serious disease that occurs throughout the United States and is caused by a virus that individuals get through contact with the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents, the park said. The types of Hantavirus that cause HPS in the United States cannot be transmitted from one person to another. Early medical attention is critical for individuals who contract Hantavirus.

Along with the outreach to past park visitors, Yosemite officials also have set up a non-emergency phone line -- 209-372-0822 -- for questions and concerns related to Hantavirus, and are distributing Hantavirus information to every visitor entering Yosemite. Notices also have been posted throughout the park.

"The park and public health officials are contacting visitors and raising awareness in the medical community to increase the chances that any additional cases that may be incubating will be successfully diagnosed and treated early," said Dr. Danielle Buttke, an epidemiologist with the National Park Service Office of Public Health.

According to the park release, "Most infections are caused by breathing small particles of mouse urine or droppings that have been stirred up into the air. If the virus is contracted, the symptoms appear one to six weeks after exposure with fever, headache, and muscle ache, and progresses rapidly to severe difficulty in breathing and, in some cases, death."

Comments

I'm shocked. Shocked I tell you, to discover mice in the tent cabins.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.