Hi,

We found evidence of a mouse in my car Saturday morning. This is a car that I drive every day, so we knew it hadn't been inside the car for long. that night, we were able to trap the mouse, a little house mouse, which made me feel better... however... We also trapped a deer mouse in the garage that night. So I am now terrified that my kids and I have been exposed to hantavirus. I'm worried that the deer mouse may have been in the car, also.

We have only trapped the two mice, so I think they were just starting to come in from the cold? I hope? There has been old evidence of mouse in the garage for years, which I am having completely cleaned and sanitized this week by a qualified company.

What is the risk of exposure to hantavirus in Illinois? How prevalent is it in the deer mice here? Would I have had to be close to the droppings to be exposed? We thoroughly wet the droppings before we picked them up, and sprayed down the interior of the car with disinfectant before cleaning it. I am having it professionally steam cleaned this week, also. I am afraid to drive it until it is sanitized. Should I be worried about the people cleaning the car?

The risk of contracting hantavirus infection in Illinois is very, very small. To my knowledge, there have been only two reported cases since 1996. The primary exposure route for people to get hantavirus infection is by breathing dust contaminated by urine, saliva or feces of an infected rodent. Wetting the droppings prior to disposal was very good. If you sprayed the car with disinfectant (bleach or phenol based), that is sufficient to kill the virus. You wouldn't need to steam clean the car. Exposure to the viruses typical involve very highly contaminated areas (barns or buildings where large accumulations of mouse/rat droppings are present and conditions where the droppings dry out and become airborne in dust). The Illinois Department of Public Health has a good fact sheet about hantaviruses. It is available here: http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbhanta.htm It describes symptoms, cleaning strategies, trapping methods and more.

I know the feeling. I just vacuumed up a bunch of mouse droppings in my basement drop ceiling and didn't wear a mask. I then went on to catch 5 deer mice in the traps the following week. Kind of makes me wish I had used a mask when I cleaned up :(