How to prevent hantavirus infection

At home: keeping rodents out

Most hantavirus infections happen in or near buildings where rodents have moved in. Prevention starts with making your home inhospitable to them:

• Inspect your foundation, walls, window frames and pipe conduits for gaps. Anything wider than 6 millimetres, roughly the diameter of a pencil, is wide enough for a mouse. Seal with steel wool, caulk, expanding foam or hardware cloth.
• Store all food in hard-sided sealed containers. This includes pet food, birdseed and pantry staples. Clean up crumbs and spills the same day. Keep garbage in bins with tight-fitting lids.
• Eliminate shelter near your home. Move firewood, brush piles and stored materials at least three metres from exterior walls. Store boxes on shelves rather than on floors.
• Maintain ventilation in attics, basements, crawl spaces and sheds. Stagnant air in dark spaces is where virus-laden dust accumulates.

Cleaning up droppings: the protocol that prevents infection

• Open every window and door in the affected room. Leave for 30 minutes before re-entering. Cross-ventilation is the first line of defence.
• Put on an N95 respirator and nitrile gloves before touching anything. Add eye protection if you have it.
• Spray all visible droppings, urine trails and nesting material with household disinfectant or a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water. Saturate the area and wait five to ten minutes.
• Wipe everything up with disposable paper towels. Do not use cloth you intend to reuse. Place all waste in a plastic bag, seal it, then place that bag inside a second bag.
• Spray the entire area a second time after removing the material. Wipe again.
• Remove gloves by turning them inside out as you pull them off. Wash your hands and any exposed skin immediately with soap and running water.

For infestations involving large quantities of droppings, nesting material in walls, or dead rodents in enclosed spaces, contact a professional pest control service. The cost is typically modest and the risk of amateur handling is real.

When travelling to endemic regions

Southern Argentina, southern Chile, rural Brazil and parts of Central America are the primary endemic zones for HPS. Parts of China, Korea, Scandinavia and the Balkans carry HFRS risk. If you are visiting these areas:

• Choose modern, well-maintained accommodation. On arrival, check for droppings under furniture, behind appliances and in closets. A musty or ammonia-like smell can indicate recent rodent activity.
• If staying in cabins, lodges or rural buildings that have been unoccupied, open all windows and air the space thoroughly before sleeping there.
• Keep food sealed during camping and outdoor activities. Do not leave packs or gear on the ground overnight in areas with visible rodent activity.
• Wash hands before eating, especially after outdoor activities in wooded or agricultural areas.

The 42-day window: guidance for MV Hondius returnees

Andes virus has a maximum documented incubation period of 42 days. If you were on the ship, disembarked at any port, or shared a flight or transport with a confirmed or suspected case, you are in this monitoring window. Here is what that means in practice:

• Check your temperature every morning and evening for the full 42-day period from your last possible exposure.
• Know the early pattern: fever plus deep muscle aches in the thighs and hips, with or without nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. This is the signal to act.
• If any of these develop, go to hospital without delay. Do not call your GP and wait for a callback. Go to the emergency department and tell them you have ship or flight exposure to a confirmed Andes hantavirus case.
• During the monitoring period, avoid sharing eating utensils, drinking glasses, towels and sleeping spaces with others in your household.
• National health agencies, CDC in the United States, UKHSA in the United Kingdom, PHAC in Canada, ECDC member state agencies in Europe, are running active contact follow-up programmes. You may be contacted directly for check-ins.

For healthcare workers

Standard infection-control precautions apply to all patient contact. For suspected or confirmed hantavirus cases, add contact-level precautions: dedicated room, N95 respirator for all entering staff, gown and gloves, and dedicated equipment. The risk of healthcare-associated transmission is documented but extremely low — below one percent of all recorded cases, when proper protocols are followed.