JULIAN, CA — A deer mouse at a state park in San Diego County tested positive for hantavirus, health officials announced Wednesday.
The mouse was collected in routine monitoring Oct. 22 at Los Vaqueros Group Horse Campground in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, according to the county’s Environmental Health and Quality Department.
Finding hantavirus in wild rodents is not uncommon in the county, health officials said.
People rarely come into direct contact with infected animals because wild rodents naturally avoid humans. Still, the detection prompted officials to remind residents to be cautious when taking holiday decorations out of attics, garages and sheds in case infected rodents have been living there.
While exposure to the potentially deadly hantavirus is rare, people should be careful around wild rodents and places where they nest as there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, according to health officials.
Symptoms of hantavirus usually develop between one to eight weeks after exposure and include severe muscle aches, chills, fever or fatigue, headache or dizziness, nausea, vomiting or stomach pain, and difficulty breathing.
Officials advised anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to hantavirus to seek medical attention immediately.
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