FAQs Reqarding Hantavirus Infection in Yosemite National Park for Non-U.S. Visitors to Yosemite
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Updated: September 17, 2012
The questions and answers below provide information for recent U.S. visitors to Yosemite and health care providers regarding the risk of exposure, diagnosis and testing for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) among recent visitors to Yosemite National Park, as well as links and phone numbers for further information.
Questions
- I’m from outside the U.S., stayed in Yosemite National Park in July 2012, and am now back in my country. Should I seek medical attention?
- During my holidays in the U.S., I was hiking in Yosemite for just one day in July. During my hike, I didn’t see or touch any rodents. Am I at risk for developing Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?
- I visited Yosemite National Park recently. Back in my own country, I now have a headache, have vomited, and have diarrhea. What should I do?
- I had lunch in Curry Village in Yosemite, but I did not stay there. I am now back in my own country. Am I at risk for developing HPS?
- When I was in Yosemite National Park recently, I saw a mouse in my tent. Should I seek medical attention back in my own country?
- I visited Yosemite National Park in May of 2012. I felt sick, with symptoms that resemble HPS. I’m well now. What should I do now that I am back in my country?
- I stayed in Yosemite National Park in the summer of 2011, over a year ago. Am I at risk for HPS?
- Is there a test for HPS?
- If my doctor thinks I may have HPS, how can I get tested?
- How is HPS treated? Is there a vaccine for HPS?
- I was in Yosemite National Park in May 2012, staying at the “Signature Tent Cabins” in Curry Village. I am feeling fine. Is there still a chance that I could become sick with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?
- I was in Yosemite National Park on August 16, 2012. I never had any symptoms after returning home. Should I be tested, just to be sure that I am not infected?
- Do I have to have all the symptoms listed on the CDC webpage in order to have Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?
- My girlfriend/boyfriend was hiking and camping in Yosemite in August 2012. Can I become infected through contact with her/him?
I’m from outside the U.S., stayed in Yosemite National Park in July 2012, and am now back in my country. Should I seek medical attention?
If you exhibit any symptoms of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), seek medical attention immediately.
Early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups—thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders. These symptoms occur in all instances of HPS infection. There may also be headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. About half of all HPS patients experience these symptoms.
Four to 10 days after the initial phase of illness, the late symptoms of HPS may appear. These include coughing and shortness of breath, with the sensation, as one HPS patient put it, of a “tight band around my chest and a pillow over my face,” as the lungs fill with fluid.
If you subsequently develop respiratory difficulties or shortness of breath, you should immediately seek medical attention.
Contact:
FRANCE Hantavirus Hotline:(33) 800 636 636
Call CDC-INFO 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636), TTY: 888-232-6348 or email CDC-INFO.
Resources:
ECDC hantavirus information for visitors to Yosemite National Park [PDF – 629KB]
During my holidays in the U.S., I was hiking in Yosemite for just one day in July. During my hike, I didn’t see or touch any rodents. Am I at risk for developing Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?
The risk of contracting HPS while hiking is extremely low. HPS is a very rare disease. In the U.S., the type of hantavirus that causes HPS is known as Sin Nombre Hantavirus. The host of the Sin Nombre hantavirus is the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), which is present throughout the western and central U.S., including Yosemite National Park. It is important to note that fewer than 20 percent of deer mice carry the virus. Also, after the virus is excreted in the deer mouse’s urine or feces, it quickly becomes inactivated and non-infectious.
So, if you were hiking in Yosemite for just the day and did not touch or see any rodents, there is very little risk for HPS.
I visited Yosemite National Park recently. Back in my own country, I now have a headache, have vomited, and have diarrhea. What should I do?
Early HPS symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups—thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders. These symptoms occur in all instances of HPS infection. There may also be headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. About half of all HPS patients experience these symptoms.
Therefore, you should contact your health provider, describe your symptoms, and mention that you were in Yosemite National Park, where cases of HPS have been reported. This will help your health provider to determine if testing for HPS is needed.
If you subsequently develop respiratory difficulties or shortness of breath, you should medical care immediately.
I had lunch in Curry Village in Yosemite, but I did not stay there. I am now back in my own country. Am I at risk for developing HPS?
HPS is a very rare disease. In the U.S., the type of hantavirus that causes HPS is known as Sin Nombre Hantavirus. The primary host of the Sin Nombre hantavirus is the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), which is present throughout the western and central U.S., including Yosemite National Park. It is important to note that fewer than 20 percent of deer mice carry the virus. Also, after the virus is excreted in the deer mouse’s urine or feces, it quickly becomes inactivated and non-infectious.
So, if you visited Yosemite but did not stay there for long, and you didn’t touch or see any rodents, there is very little risk for HPS.
When I was in Yosemite National Park recently, I saw a mouse in my tent. Should I seek medical attention back in my own country?
Not unless symptoms appear. Early HPS symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups—thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders. These symptoms are universal. There may also be headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. About half of all HPS patients experience these symptoms.
If you experience these symptoms, you should contact your health provider and mention that you were in Yosemite National Park where cases of HPS have been reported. This will help your health provider to determine if testing for HPS is needed.
Four to 10 days after the initial phase of illness, the late symptoms of HPS may appear. These include coughing and shortness of breath, with the sensation, as one former HPS patient put it, of a “tight band around my chest and a pillow over my face,” as the lungs fill with fluid.
If you subsequently develop respiratory difficulties or shortness of breath, you should immediately seek medical attention.
I visited Yosemite National Park in May of 2012. I felt sick, with symptoms that resemble HPS. I’m well now. What should I do now that I am back in my country?
Contact your doctor or your local public health official. Mention your symptoms and your travel to Yosemite National Park. This will help them to decide if a laboratory test is needed to determine whether you had HPS.
I stayed in Yosemite National Park in the summer of 2011, over a year ago. Am I at risk for HPS?
No. Symptoms of the disease may occur anywhere from 1-6 weeks after exposure to the virus. Typically, it’s 2-4 weeks. So, since it was over a year ago, there’s no reason to believe you’re at risk for HPS.
Is there a test for HPS?
Yes. Testing for HPS is possible in a specialized laboratory. Only a laboratory test can confirm that you have – or had – HPS. Diagnosing clinical HPS in an individual who has only been infected for a few days is difficult, because early symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, and fatigue are easily confused with other illnesses.
If my doctor thinks I may have HPS, how can I get tested?
Your doctor must first establish where and how to send the blood sample for HPS testing. For EC member states, the European Network for Diagnostics of Imported Viral Diseases maintains a list by country of laboratories that perform diagnostic testing, as well as the specific diagnostic tests than can be conducted.
For countries in Latin America, hantavirus is present in most of Central and South America and diagnostic testing for HPS is available in every country.
How is HPS treated? Is there a vaccine for HPS?
There is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for hantavirus infection. However, if infected individuals are recognized early and receive medical care in an intensive care unit, they may do better. In intensive care, patients are given oxygen therapy or undergo an intubation procedure (insertion of a flexible tube in the airway) to help them through the period of severe respiratory distress.
If you have been around rodents and have symptoms of fever, deep muscle aches, and severe shortness of breath, see your doctor immediately. Be sure to tell your doctor that you have been around rodents.
I was in Yosemite National Park in May 2012, staying at the “Signature Tent Cabins” in Curry Village. I am feeling fine. Is there still a chance that I could become sick with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?
No. Because the incubation of hantavirus is between one and six weeks, and because your stay in May puts you ‘outside’ that incubation period, you are not at risk for developing Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome related to your stay in Curry Village.
I was in Yosemite National Park on August 16, 2012. I never had any symptoms after returning home. Should I be tested, just to be sure that I am not infected?
People without any symptoms should not be tested. However, the incubation period of the virus is from one to six weeks. You should monitor your health until the end of September, six weeks after your visit in mid-August.
For persons who do not have any symptoms of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, testing does not yield meaningful results. For testing to be definitive, symptoms should be present for 3-4 days, in order to measure your immune system’s response to the virus.
Do I have to have all the symptoms listed on the CDC webpage in order to have Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome?
No. However, some symptoms, or groups of symptoms, are more indicative than others. If you are feeling sick with a high fever and develop any difficulty breathing, seek medical attention immediately. If you had any recent potential exposure to deer mice (including camping in Yosemite), tell your healthcare provider about it and mention hantavirus.
My girlfriend/boyfriend was hiking and camping in Yosemite in August 2012. Can I become infected through contact with her/him?
No. There is no documented human-to-human transmission of hantavirus in the US.
- Page last reviewed: September 17, 2012
- Page last updated: September 17, 2012
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