Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

Yes, my scientific education means that I shall always be interested in microbiology.

Earlier this month, I mentioned that among the recent tragedies connected with Yosemite National Park was the death of a man, and the illiness of a woman, who acquired infections with Hantavirus and who stayed at Curry Village in tent cabins about 100 feet from each other, although the two did not know each other. Now, another visitor to the park, who stayed at Curry Village, has died of Hantavirus, and a fourth case, also reported today, is being investigated. (The photo above, of a young buck, was taken in a meadow very near to Curry Village. No, blacktail deer are not vectors for the disease, but beware their hooves and racks!)

No, there is no cure for Hantavirus infections. In fact, back in the days when countries admitted to doing such things, the United States weaponized the virus.

Korean hemorrhagic fever (Hantavirus) was one of three hemorrhagic fevers and one of more than a dozen agents that the United States researched as potential biological weapons before suspending its biological weapons program.

According to SFgate.com:

All four visitors stayed in Curry Village, a collection of tents and cabins located at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley, over a one-week period in mid-June. Park officials are now contacting everyone who stayed in the tent cabins from mid-June through the end of August to warn them about the virus and advise them to seek medical attention if they have any symptoms of infection.

What are the characteristics and symptoms of Hantavirus infection, you might ask? SFgate.com says:

Hantavirus is a rare viral infection carried by mice and passed to humans by the rodents’ feces or urine. Most people infected with the virus suffer flu-like symptoms first, including fever, headache and muscle pains, often in the thighs, back and hips. After two to seven days, many patients have severe difficulty breathing and can die.

Patients may not develop symptoms until one to six weeks after exposure. There is no cure or virus-specific treatment for hantavirus.

The first victim was a 37-year-old man from Alameda County, California (MY county), who died in late July. The second victim was a woman from Southern California. She survived the infection. The third victim, a man from another state, also died in July. The fourth victim is expected to survive, but no further information has been released. Park spokesman, Scott Gediman said that public health officials are testing to confirm that the infection is from Hantavirus, but given the symptoms, it is likely that the fourth person also contracted the disease in Yosemite.

“This is being taken very seriously,” said park spokesman Scott Gediman. “We’ve been able to isolate the cabin area, we’ve done the thorough cleaning, we’re monitoring the area, we’re trapping mice and testing them. We’re making sure the cabins are shored up. We’re being very active and we have been since the cases came to light.”

“They’re doing everything they can to eliminate areas where mice can get into the cabins,” Gediman said. “This was never because the cabins were dirty, it was never because we didn’t take care of them. This is just because approximately 20 percent of all deer mice are infected with hantavirus. And they’re here in Yosemite Valley.”

All four victims stayed in Curry Village’s “signature tent cabins” over a one-week period in mid-June. There are 408 tent cabins with wooden frames and canvas sides in Curry Village. Of these, 91 are “signature tent cabins” with more insulation and other amenities.

Hantavirus is spread principally by deer mice, which live at higher elevations and, in California are most common in the eastern Sierra Nevada. These four cases are the first reported for Yosemite Valley. The previous two cases reported in Yosemite National Park occurred with visitors to Tuolumne Meadows, at a much higher elevation. After the first two cases in the valley, researchers found Hantavirus in feces of mice trapped near Curry Village.

Since Hantavirus was first identified in the United States in 1993, there have been about 60 cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome reported in California.

About one-third of those patients died.

(Note added August 28, 2012: Yosemite National Park is contacting 1,700 people who stayed at Curry Village this summer to tell them that they may have been exposed to Hantavirus and should seek medical help if they experience flu-like symptoms. According to SFgate.com: “Anyone with questions about hantavirus at Yosemite National Park can call the park service at (209) 372-0822.”)

(Note added August 31, 2012: Yesterday, 91 Curry Village tent cabins were closed after THREE more cases of Hantavirus infection linked to Yosemite were confirmed. All victims visited the park between early June and mid-July. SFgate.com  says:

Four of them, including both fatalities, stayed in the signature cabins on the east side of Curry Village, officials said.

“They all stayed at Yosemite,” said Anita Gore, spokeswoman for the California Department of Public Health. “One lodged in an unspecified area of Curry Village, and the other is still under investigation as to exactly where they stayed.”

Yosemite officials this week confirmed the second death. That case was among those confirmed by the health department. None of the victims was named, but two were from the Bay Area, two were from Southern California, one was from the Sacramento area, and one of the two fatalities was from Pennsylvania, Gore said. Three of the victims have recovered and the fourth remains hospitalized and is “improving,” she said.

More than 1,000 calls each day are coming into Yosemite’s Hantavirus Hotline.)

(Note added September 6, 2012: A third death is blamed on Hantavirus exposure in Yosemite.)

-Bill at

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