Hantavirus Source Pursued

Sat., May 15, 1999

Regional health officials are conducting an investigation into the source of the hantavirus that is believed to have claimed the life of a Moscow woman.

Health officials said Joanne Storla, 43, contracted the illness before her death on May 9. The initial cause of death was listed as adult respiratory distress syndrome, but an investigation confirmed hantavirus.

Hantavirus can cause flu-like symptoms, fever and sometimes shock, eventually developing into severe respiratory distress. Humans can contract the virus by inhaling airborne particles of rodent urine, droppings or saliva, particularly from deer mice.

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