Hantavirus Claims Life in Saskatchewan, Canada

Hantavirus infection has claimed the life of a rural Saskatchewan resident.

"We've had a case the week of Oct. 10 in a middle-aged adult and, unfortunately, in this particular case it was fatal," said deputy chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab. "This case was in the rural area around North Battleford."

Last year, there was a case of hantavirus in the Heartland Health Region, which is also located in west-central Saskatchewan.

"Over the last 16 years, we've had 21 cases of hantavirus and in most, if not all cases, the setting has been a rural setting - that's the environment where deer mice are," Shahab said.

Humans are most often exposed to the virus by breathing in air particles contaminated by deer mouse saliva, urine or droppings containing the infectious hantaviruses.

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Source: www.edmontonjournal.com