00:00Health officials are sounding an urgent alarm.
00:02The critical exposure window for Hantavirus has opened across five western U.S. states,
00:08and not all travelers and outdoor workers are getting the warning they need.
00:13Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a rare but frequently fatal disease
00:17transmitted through contact with infected rodent droppings, urine, or saliva.
00:22There is no treatment and no vaccine.
00:25The fatality rate is approximately 35%.
00:28Cases cluster in spring and early summer when people begin camping, hiking,
00:33and entering buildings that have been closed over winter.
00:36Where mice have been nesting and leaving infected waste,
00:40Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and California are the highest risk states historically.
00:46The CDC is specifically concerned about the lack of consistent screening
00:51and monitoring for travelers returning from affected wilderness areas.
00:55Early symptoms mimic the flu.
00:57Fever, fatigue, muscle aches,
01:00before rapidly progressing to life-threatening respiratory failure within days.
01:05Knowing the risk before you enter the wilderness
01:08could be the difference between life and death.
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