[FRIAM] Hackmann deaths - Hanta virus in Santa Fe ?

steve smith sasmyth at swcp.com
Sat Mar 8 10:54:32 EST 2025


EricS wrote:

> Deer mice are everywhere in Santa Fe.  If you burn firewood, you clear nests of them out of your woodpile year-round.  Often very big ones.  And they invade houses, inexorably.  I think they have transporters.
My favorite Leonard Cohen (mis)quote: "there is a crack in everything, 
that is how the mice get in"
> A thing I read that is very interesting is that serum tests of rodent breeders apparently show very high incidence of antibodies to hantaviruses.  So the 30-50% case fataility rates perhaps apply to those that rise to being symptomatic or those that lead to the pulmonary stage.  (I don’t know; trying to reconcile my own confusions.)  It may be that sub-clinical infections are much more common, and lead to some level of immunity, like milkmaids didn’t get smallpox (though that is a distinct phenomenon in other respects).
I did wonder how likely subclinical infections are, passed off as a flu, 
etc. might be?  The resulting possible immunity is an unknown for me as 
well.   I suspect my lifelong exposure may have yielded some immunity 
but my aging metabolism and immune system curve has probably crossed the 
other... maybe I should wear a bleach-infused plague-doctor mask when I 
bring in firewood or clean my yurt.  Or move to a hyper-sterile 
apartment in a city?

>   I guess one gets casual, living around mice all the time.

I can attest (and have at length) to this...


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