Pauly Denetclaw
ICT
Tribes in the southwest have been dealing with the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus for decades. In fact, Navajo elders noted that after heavy rainfall that resulted in a mast year for piñon nuts, a respiratory virus would be prevalent on the Navajo Nation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used this information to pinpoint the deadly virus that was impacting the Four Corners area. In 1993, the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus was named. For the last three decades, the Navajo Nation has worked diligently to inform the community of how hantavirus is spread, and how to mitigate transmission.
Once again hantavirus has made international headlines, after an outbreak of the Andes strain among passengers on a cruise ship traveling from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands, two islands off the coast of northwest Africa. The World Health Organization reported that the Andes strain was contracted on land and brought onto the ship, where several other passengers were exposed. The passengers contracted the Andes strain of hantavirus. It’s the only known strain of hantavirus that can be transmitted person-to-person.
The 39 other strains can only be transmitted from mice to humans.
The focus in the southwest remains on the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus. The first case of the Sin Nombre strain was confirmed in March, the patient from Santa Fe County was hospitalized and has since recovered.
“I would like to reiterate that the risk to the general public is low for this current cruise ship associated outbreak,” Dr. Laura Hammitt, director of Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health’s Infectious Disease Program, told ICT. “People who live in areas where the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus is circulating, continue to practice those mitigation measures, to keep mice out of the home and to safely clean up mouse droppings, and nests.”
The CDC and World Health Organization have said it is unlikely that the Andes strain of hantavirus will spread in the same way Covid-19 did.
“Andes virus has some distinct characteristics, including rare person-to-person transmission, our experts have allowed us to respond effectively while remaining vigilant about its unique features,” Dr. David Fitter, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration Health, said during a May 13 press conference. “At this moment, I want to emphasize that the risk to the general public is low. Our top priority is with the passengers who are on the ship and American communities.”
The Andes strain is not rapidly mutating, Hammitt said.
“It looks very similar to the strains in previous outbreaks from years ago,” Hammitt said. ” This doesn’t seem to be a rapidly mutating strain, which is reassuring.”
The CDC is regularly communicating with tribal partners, according to a spokesperson.
“Hantavirus is a known pathogen. The Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person. This spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with the ill person,” a CDC spokesperson said in a written statement to ICT. “CDC is working closely with affected states. We also regularly communicate with state, tribal and federal partners.”
Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus
Deer mice are highly abundant in the Southwest, their nests can often be found in boulders along hiking trails, in fallen logs, at the base of trees, and in livestock housing. The Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus can only be transmitted from the saliva, urine or fecal matter of deer mice.
The virus becomes airborne when the infected bodily matter is disturbed. For example, if a person is cleaning out an animal stall and doesn’t know there are deer mice living in the stall, the disturbance of just cleaning it without proper precautions could put someone at-risk of contracting the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus.
“The hantavirus Sin Nombre strain continues to circulate in the southwest, and I think that remains really the priority, in terms of risk mitigation,” Hammitt said.
The Navajo Epidemiology Center has a number of recommendations to mitigate the risk of contracting the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus.
- First let the shed or animal stall air out for 30 minutes.
- Using a mask and gloves, locate any mice droppings or carcasses, and spray with bleach-water.
- After five minutes the droppings or carcass can be safely removed and thrown away.
- The center recommends washing the gloves with bleach-water or soap, then removing the gloves and washing your bare hands with soap.
It is also really important to keep mice out of the home by setting mice traps, putting food in air-tight containers and patching any areas where mice can get in.
Even if the Andes strain of hantavirus were to reach the Navajo Nation, its health departments’ experience with the Sin Nombre strain would make it better equipped to respond to an outbreak, said Hammitt.
“I think the Navajo Nation’s experience in responding to hantavirus [Sin Nombre strain] makes them very well prepared for the current situation,” Hammitt said. “Not only in terms of what the public is already aware of about hantavirus, this is a disease they have been hearing about for many years, they understand transmission mechanisms, and the steps that need to be taken to mitigate risk. So I think [the] Navajo Nation is well-placed to respond to the current concerns.”
Healthcare providers in the southwest are also more educated on the symptoms of hantavirus, which is vital for getting the proper care.
“Clinicians even on Navajo Nation have a much higher awareness of hantavirus and the important clinical presentation of hantavirus, and how to differentiate that from other causes of respiratory failure,” Hammitt said. “There really is a heightened awareness of [hantavirus] in the Southwest across all of the facilities that serve Navajo Nation.”
The risk for contracting the Andes strain of hantavirus is low because it requires prolonged exposure in a small space with a person who has contracted the virus, according to the World Health Organization.
For more information on hantavirus, a CDC spokesperson recommended going to their website.