A confirmed case of Hantavirus out of a rural community north of Edmonton has pushed Alberta Health Services to remind residents of a few simple things they can do to protect themselves.

If you have to clean up a mouse nest, make sure you ventilate the area, put on gloves, wet down the spot with a mixture of bleach and water, let it sit for five to ten minutes, then throw everything into a sealable garbage container.

North Zone Medical Officer of Health with A-H-S Doctor Kathryn Koliaska says if you become infected, the virus can sit quiet in your system for a while before you start to show symptoms.

"There can be a one to two week incubation period between cleaning up the droppings and actually getting sick with the illness The illness starts off [like] a little bit of 'flu coming on with fever, chills, and then it turns into more of a cough and difficulty breathing."

She adds that if you experience these symptoms about two weeks after cleaning up a nest, you need to see a doctor immediately.

The virus, which is spread through mouse droppings, can be deadly.

Health Canada information here
 

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