Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) : Part 6

by CDC

(Page 6 of 17)

Clean Up Infested Areas, Using Safety Precautions

Put on latex rubber gloves before cleaning up.

Do not stir up dust by sweeping up or vacuuming up droppings, urine or nesting materials.

Instead, thoroughly wet contaminated areas with detergent or liquid to deactivate the virus. Most general purpose disinfectants and household detergents are effective. However, a hypochlorite solution prepared by mixing 1 and 1/2 cups of household bleach in 1 gallon of water may be used in place of commercial disinfectant. When using the chlorine solution, avoid spilling the mixture on clothing or other items that may be damaged.

Once everything is wet, take up contaminated materials with a damp towel, then mop or sponge the area with disinfectant.

Spray dead rodents with disinfectant, then double-bag along with all cleaning materials and bury or burn - or throw out in appropriate waste disposal system. If burning or burying isn't feasible, contact your local or state health department about other disposal methods.

Finally, disinfect gloves before taking them off with disinfectant or soap and water. After taking off the clean gloves, thoroughly wash hands with soap and warm water.

When going into cabins or outbuildings (or work areas) that have been closed for awhile, open them up and air out before cleaning.

Hantaviruses and Disinfectants

Hantaviruses are surrounded by a lipid (fatty) envelope, so they are somewhat fragile. The lipid envelope can be destroyed and the virus killed by fat solvents, such as alcohol, ordinary disinfectants and household bleach. That is why one of the most important ways to prevent transmitting the disease is to carefully wet down dead rodents and areas where rodents have been with disinfectant and/or bleach. When you do this, you are killing the virus itself and reducing the chance that the virus will get into the air.

Precautions for Homes of Persons with Confirmed Hantavirus Infection

Special precautions should be used for cleaning homes or buildings with heavy rodent infestations in areas where HPS has been reported. If you are attempting to deal with such an infestation, it is recommended that you contact the responsible local, state, or federal public health agency for guidance.

The special precautions may also apply to vacant dwellings that have attracted numbers of rodents while unoccupied and to dwellings and other structures that have been occupied by persons with confirmed hantavirus infection.

Workers who are either hired specifically to perform the clean-up or asked to do so as part of their work activities should receive a thorough orientation from the responsible health agency about hantavirus transmission and should be trained to perform the required activities safely.

Precautions To Be Used:

Persons involved in the clean-up should wear coveralls (disposable, if possible), rubber boots or disposable shoe covers, rubber or plastic gloves, protective goggles, and an appropriate respiratory protection device, such as a half-mask air-purifying (or negative-pressure) respirator with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter or a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with HEPA filters.

Please note: the HEPA classification recently has been discontinued. Please read "Update On the Nomenclature and Use of Respirators as a Precaution for Hantavirus Infection, February, 1999" for details.

Personal protective gear should be decontaminated upon removal at the end of the day. If the coveralls are not disposable, they should be laundered on site. If no laundry facilities are available, the coveralls should be immersed in liquid disinfectant until they can be washed.

All potentially infective waste material (including respirator filters) from clean-up operations that cannot be burned or deep buried on site should be double bagged in appropriate plastic bags. The bagged material should then be labeled as infectious (if it is to be transported) and disposed of in accordance with local requirements for infectious waste.

Workers who develop symptoms suggestive of HPS within 45 days of the last potential exposure should immediately seek medical attention. The physician should contact local health authorities promptly if hantavirus-associated illness is suspected. A blood sample should be obtained and forwarded with the baseline serum through the state health department to CDC for hantavirus antibody testing.

About the Author

www.cdc.gov
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the 13 major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves.