Hantavirus Infects Portola Woman

Health officials issued a warning after a 32-year-old Portola woman became California’s 13th confirmed hantavirus victim.

The woman, whose name was withheld, is at home recuperating after a brief stay in a hospital following flu-like symptoms, said Bill Crigler, Plumas County environmental health director.

“She exhibited flu-like symptoms initially and was admitted to the hospital with fever, achiness and chest tightness,” he said. “She was confirmed positive for hantavirus but she’s doing very well now.”

The latest case comes about a month after a 55-year-old San Pablo, Calif., man died of hantavirus. He contracted the disease while camping in the Cisco Grove area, beside Interstate 80 west of Donner Summit.

Crigler urged residents particularly along the eastern Sierra to use extreme caution when finding accumulations of rodent droppings. The disease is spread by the feces of deer mice.

Six Nevada residents also have become infected with the disease in recent years. A Sparks man who was a state livestock inspector died in October, 1993, after contracting hantavirus at a northern Nevada ranch.