Hantavirus made national news this year when actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home on Feb. 26. An autopsy revealed that Arakawa had died from the virus, a rare, rodent-born infectious disease that is commonly spread by deer mice. In early April, authorities in Mammoth Lakes reported that three people had died of hantavirus in a matter of weeks. North Shore resident Amie Quirarte shares her recent ordeal with the virus in the hopes of preventing others from contracting it.
As a real estate broker, I am going in and out of homes daily, oftentimes homes that have been empty for quite some time. I have never questioned my safety in doing so, but on Jan. 16 I went to visit a luxury property in Tahoe City, not knowing that it would alter the course of my life.
About 2 and a half weeks later, I started to feel ill. Initially, it felt like the early onset of flu-like symptoms. We have two school-age children, so my first thought was that I had caught yet another bug that was going around, but I quickly realized this was different. I went to urgent care on a Saturday, was screened for the usual viruses with a basic panel, and sent home after testing negative for everything. In less than 24 hours, my symptoms progressively worsened. I was experiencing non-stop vomiting, extreme lethargy to the point of barely being able to walk or talk, and heavy chills that I could not keep at bay. The chills would quickly shift to overheating, but I never had anything more than a low-grade fever.
By Monday morning, I was the sickest I had ever been in my entire life. My husband brought me to the Tahoe Forest Hospital Emergency Room in Incline. Upon taking my vitals, they realized my oxygen levels were alarmingly low and I was experiencing fluctuations in my blood pressure. I was not experiencing any respiratory issues at that time, but when I would take a breath in, I could hear a small crackling sound, so I asked for a chest x-ray. It was then that they realized my lungs were full of fluid.
It all happened rather quickly, and the next thing I knew, I was being transported to the ICU in Truckee. By the time I arrived, I was having a hard time breathing; I was gasping for air, but nothing was coming out. The hospital gave me an emergency breathing treatment that likely saved my life, and they put me on a high-flow oxygen mask that I wore for the duration of my stay.
The incredible doctors in Truckee knew that it was hantavirus based on a couple of specific proteins showing up in my kidneys. Without their knowledge and early medical intervention, I would not be here today. The hantavirus blood test takes over 10 days to come back, so we didn’t have an official confirmation of the diagnosis until after I had been released and was already back home.
Exposure to the virus is airborne only. It cannot be transmitted from person to person, but some public health officials believe it can be transferred via clothing if the fabric gets contaminated with the virus through contact with rodent waste, albeit far less likely.
I got the virus from going into a ceiling-high crawlspace for under 1 minute while I was grabbing a key. I opened the crawlspace hatch to grab the lockbox from a pipe, and that was it. I stepped in a few feet, took a few normal breaths, and that was all it took. I did not see mice, feces, or anything of the sort.
After working extensively with the Placer and California departments of public health, I learned the protocols to prevent hantavirus:
1. Always wear a mask in any crawlspace or attic. If you are the first one to open the crawlspace, put on your mask, open it from behind the door, and let the area air out for 30 to 60 minutes before going in. When you do enter, you still need to be masked.
2. The same protocol above goes for entering homes that have been vacant for extended periods. Mice can live in closets or in a house, and if you are the first person in a home where hantavirus is present, all you’d have to do is open the door first to put yourself at risk. Wear a mask, go inside, and open the doors and windows and let the house air out before spending significant time in it.
3. Do not clean up areas where mice feces, urine, or saliva can be present without first spraying it with bleach/Lysol and letting it rest. Common cleaning products will kill the disease. If you see mice droppings, spray them, let it sit for an hour, and then wear a mask and wipe it with a wet paper towel. Wear a mask while doing this. Do not vacuum up rodent droppings.
4. Ten percent of deer mice in the Tahoe area carry hantavirus. It is more common in the spring and summer, but the virus’ contagiousness period itself lasts longer during the winter months because it is refrigerated. Sunlight will kill the virus, but it has a lifespan when it’s contagious of around 6 to 12 days.
Lastly, if you experience symptoms, please do not wait to go in to see a doctor. Undoubtedly, I am alive because I had early medical intervention. There is no treatment for the virus, but research shows if you receive intensive care early, you are more likely to live.
