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Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:29 pm
by Alpinist
Anyone who has stayed in Curry Village recently that has flu-like symptoms should see a doctor. There are 3 confirmed cases of hantavirus and 2 of the people died. :!:

Source.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 11:04 pm
by NW
I saw somewhere else that there was something in Yosemite that had caused at least 1 death but it hadn't stated what it was. Good to know.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 1:50 am
by lcarreau
The virus is restricted to the "tent cabins" in Curry Village.

As usual, the news media is "over-playing" the outbreak, making it sound like the ENTIRE PARK is infected.

Who on summitpost actually frequents places like Curry Village ? Don't people normally stay in the roadside campgrounds ... I know I do.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 2:28 am
by mrchad9
lcarreau wrote:Who on summitpost actually frequents places like Curry Village ? Don't people normally stay in the roadside campgrounds ... I know I do.

Or drinks rat urine? Just stick to Mountain House and whisky and you can stay virus free.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:10 am
by dshankar
I'm on my way there now. I'm headed to Mount Dana which is far from Curry Village. I plan on sleeping at Tioga Lake.

I'm a complete newbie to the Yosemite region and this is my first time hiking up past 10k. Should I be concerned?

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:23 am
by inconsolable
dshankar wrote:I'm on my way there now. I'm headed to Mount Dana which is far from Curry Village. I plan on sleeping at Tioga Lake.

I'm a complete newbie to the Yosemite region and this is my first time hiking up past 10k. Should I be concerned?


No. If you develop signs of altitude sickness, descend; otherwise, use common sense & have a wonderful time.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 1:15 pm
by NW
Yes whisky and camping. They do go hand in hand. And now it's for my health lol! Though the first time I was down that way I discovered that Sweet Tea stuff. We don't have anything like that up here.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:10 pm
by Ulu
Dana is a cruise-only worry will be lightning.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:51 pm
by colinr
Image



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Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 10:40 pm
by lcarreau
mrchad9 wrote:
lcarreau wrote:Who on summitpost actually frequents places like Curry Village ? Don't people normally stay in the roadside campgrounds ... I know I do.

Or drinks rat urine? Just stick to Mountain House and whisky and you can stay virus free.


Oh, for crying out loud ... me thinks TOO MANY folks have been watching too many "BEAR GRYLLS" reruns on the booby tube ..

Image

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:22 pm
by colinr
^^^Larry, Les Stroud seems pretty good at sticking to the straight skinny, and sometimes he plays his harmonica, being a former rocker.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy96R1Bykl8[/youtube]
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.

I won't stay anywhere inside the park (especially in the tent cabins), but I know lots of people who go to Yosemite and stay in the valley specifically to reserve more luxurious accommodations than camping. Local middle schoolers even visit for a week in winter.

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Several of my relatives stayed in the valley in the same time frame as those who have fallen ill, or worse. Luckily none were in the Curry cabins this time around (some have stayed in them before).

Unfortunately, there are now additional confirmed hantavirus cases.
http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_21436343/yosemite-hantavirus-concerns-close-91-tent-cabins

Cases have been rare in YNP (especially considering the number of visitors), with only a couple of prior confirmed cases up in Tuolomne Meadows.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 8:47 am
by colinr
It had crossed my mind when the Curry hantavirus story began to surface weeks ago, but after reading this link from a couple of days ago, I now more strongly smell a lawsuit brewing:

http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_21417806/yosemite-officials-say-1-700-visitors-may-have

I hope nobody else was infected prior to awareness and action by park staff. The article in my previous post indicates to me that new cases will be unlikely.

Re: Confirmed hantavirus in Yosemite

PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 5:50 pm
by Alpinist
U.S. health officials have sent warnings to 39 other countries that their citizens who stayed in Yosemite National Park tent cabins this summer may have been exposed to a deadly mouse-borne hantavirus, a park service epidemiologist said on Tuesday.

Of the 10,000 people thought to be at risk of contracting hantavirus pulmonary syndrome from their stays in Yosemite between June and August, some 2,500 live outside the United States, Dr. David Wong told Reuters in an interview.

Wong said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials notified 39 countries over the weekend, most of them in the European Union, that their residents may have been exposed to the deadly virus.

The lung disease has so far killed two men and sickened four other people, all U.S. citizens, prompting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a health alert.
...
Four of those known to be infected at Yosemite this summer slept in the insulated tent cabins. One slept elsewhere in Curry Village, located in a valley beneath the iconic Half Dome rock formation, and the sixth case remains under investigation. More...