SEATTLE — The death of an Ellensburg police officer appears to be the second hantavirus infection in Washington in less than a week, and homeowners should be careful with fall cleaning, a state epidemiologist said Tuesday.
Sgt. Nelson Ng, 34, died Friday of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, the Yakima County coroner reported. Rebecca Baer, zoonotic disease epidemiologist with the state Health Department, said Ng’s death remains under investigation but looks like it could be from hantavirus.
Testing by the state health laboratory in Shoreline and the Centers for Disease Control should be completed by the end of this week or early next week, Baer said.
A Bellingham resident whose name has not been released was sent home from the hospital to finish recuperating last week after being treated for hantavirus, Bar said.
The virus spreads through contact with mouse saliva, urine or droppings. In the western United States, the deer mouse is the main carrier of hantavirus, but health officials advise avoiding contact with all wild rodents.
An average of one to five cases of the virus have been reported in Washington annually since the illness was identified in 1993. Of 35 confirmed cases since 1993, 11 people have died.
More on the virus
For more information on hantavirus, go to:
Department of Health Fact Sheet on hantavirus: www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/factsheet/hanta.htm
State Department of Health: www.doh.wa.gov/notify/nc/hantavirus.htm
Centers for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/noframes/prevent.htm
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