Arizona woman dies from hantavirus complications

Published 5:14 pm, Friday, June 7, 2013

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) Coconino County health officials say a Flagstaff-area
woman has died from complications of Hantavirus. They say it's still unclear how
the woman contracted the rare disease spread by infected rodent droppings. The
name and age of the woman weren't disclosed Friday.

Hantavirus is transmitted to people that come into contact with or breathe infected
urine, droppings and-or saliva of wild mice, primarily deer mice. The virus isn't
spread from person to person. The illness starts with fever, headache and muscle
aches, and progresses rapidly to severe difficulty in breathing and can be fatal. The
last reported case in Coconino County was 2007 and the victim
eventually recovered.

Health officials say there have now been 22 confirmed Hantavirus cases in Arizona
since 2006 and 11 of those victims died.