Hantavirus FAQ

	What is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)?
	Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a deadly disease caused by hantaviruses. Rodents can transmit hantaviruses through urine, droppings, or saliva. Humans can contract the disease when they breathe in aerosolized virus.
	Who is at risk of contracting HPS?
	Anyone who comes into contact with rodents that carry hantavirus is at risk of HPS. Rodent infestation in and around the home remains the primary risk for hantavirus exposure. Even healthy individuals are at risk for HPS infection if exposed to the virus.
	Which rodents are known to be carriers of hantavirus that cause HPS in humans?
	In the United States, deer mice, cotton and rice rats (in the Southeast), and the white-footed mouse (in the Northeast), are the only known rodent carriers of hantaviruses causing HPS.
	How is HPS transmitted?
	Hantavirus is transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva. Individuals become infected with HPS after breathing fresh aerosolized urine, droppings, saliva, or nesting materials. Transmission can also occur when these materials are directly introduced into broken skin, the nose or the mouth. If a rodent with the virus bites someone, the virus may be spread to that person, but this type of transmission is rare.
	Can you contract HPS from another person?
	HPS in the United States cannot be transmitted from one person to another. You cannot get the virus from touching or kissing a person who has HPS or from a health care worker who has treated someone with the disease. In addition, you cannot contract the virus from a blood transfusion in which you receive blood from a person who survived HPS.
	Can you contract HPS from other animals?
	Hantaviruses that cause HPS in the United States are only known to be transmitted by certain species of rodents. HPS in the United States is not known to be transmitted by farm animals, dogs, or cats or from rodents purchased from a pet store.
	How long can hantavirus remain infectious in the environment?
	The length of time hantaviruses can remain infectious in the environment is variable and depends on environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, whether the virus is indoors or outdoors or exposed to the sun, and even on the rodent’s diet (which would affect the chemistry of its urine). Viability for 2 or 3 days has been shown at normal room temperature. Exposure to sunlight will decrease the time of viability, and freezing temperatures will actually increase the time that the virus remains viable. Since the survival of infectious virus is measured in terms of hours or days, only active infestations of infected rodents result in conditions that are likely to lead to human hantavirus infection.