Umatilla County resident infected with hantavirus

A Umatilla County resident has been diagnosed with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

It’s a serious and sometimes fatal disease that’s spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings — either directly or through breathing in particles stirred up in the air.

Symptoms start one to six weeks after exposure and can include fever, headache, muscle aches and breathing difficulty.

There are steps to reduce exposure risks, said Dr. Jon Hitzman, Umatilla County public health officer, in a news release.

They include keeping food in tightly sealed containers away from rodents; removing stacked wood, trash piles and junk from around homes and sealing holes where rodents can enter; thoroughly cleaning living and sleeping areas and taking proper steps if encountering rodent droppings or dead rodents.

For more information, go to www.cdc.gov/hantavirus.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Umatilla County resident infected with hantavirus."