Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationship of Human Behavior within Outbuildings to Potential Exposure to Sin Nombre Virus in Western Montana

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
EcoHealth Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sin Nombre virus (SNV) causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in humans. Transmission of SNV among the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) host predominates during spring and summer, and is greater in peridomestic than sylvan settings where, protected from UV light, SNV may survive longer. Incidence of HCPS reflects these times and settings and is associated with inhalation of mouse excreta. Little is known, however, about how human use of outbuildings contributes to potential exposure to SNV. Here, the frequency and seasonality of outbuilding use by humans was evaluated, via a survey of rural residents in western Montana, to quantify human behaviors and potential risk of exposure to SNV. Retrieving or return of tools and scooping feed/grain were the most frequently undertaken activities. Seasonal activities coinciding with seasons of highest HCPS incidence and times of potentially high viral shedding by deer mice, included retrieving or returning tools, calving or lambing, and, to a lesser extent, feeding livestock and sweeping or cleaning. Human behavior is a component of SNV transmission risk and this preliminary study provides a basis from which to further evaluate this route of exposure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Armstrong LR, Zaki SR, Goldoft MJ, Todd RL, Khan AS, Khabbaz RF, et al. (1995) Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome associated with entering or cleaning rarely used, rodent-infested structures. Journal of Infectious Diseases 172:1166.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CDC (1993) Outbreak of acute illness—southwestern United States, 1993. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 42:421–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • CDC (2007) Case information: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome case count and descriptive statistics as of March 2007. National Center for Infectious Diseases Special Pathogens Branch. Available: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/noframes/caseinfo.htm [accessed Aug 18, 2009]

  • CDC (2009) All about hantaviruses. Available: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/noframes/epislides/episl5.htm [accessed Aug 18, 2009]

  • Childs JE, Krebs JW, Ksiazek TG, Maupin GO, Gage KL, Rollin PE, et al. (1995) A household-based, case-control study of environmental-factors associated with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the southwestern United States. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 52:393–397.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Childs JE, Ksiazek TG, Spiropoulou CF, Krebs JW, Morzunov S, Maupin GO, et al. (1994) Serologic and genetic identification of Peromyscus maniculatus as the primary rodent reservoir for a new hantavirus in the southwestern United States. Journal of Infectious Diseases 169:1271–1280.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chisolm S (1997) Common questions about hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. AJN. The American Journal of Nursing 96:68–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Douglass RJ, Calisher CH, Bradley KC (2005) State-by-state incidences of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States, 1993–2004. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 5:189–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Douglass RJ, Semmens WJ, Matlock-Cooley SJ, Kuenzi AJ (2006) Deer mouse movements in peridomestic and sylvan settings in relation to Sin Nombre virus antibody prevalence. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 42:813–818.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglass RJ, Wilson T, Semmens WJ, Zanto SN, Bond CW, Van Horn RC, et al. (2001) Longitudinal studies of Sin Nombre virus in deer mouse-dominated ecosystems of Montana. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 65:33–41.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Glass GE, Yates TL, Fine JB, Shields TM, Kendall JB, Hope AG, et al. (2002) Satellite imagery characterizes local animal reservoir populations of Sin Nombre virus in the southwestern United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99:16817–16822.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hjelle B, Glass GE (2000) Outbreak of hantavirus infection in the Four Corners region of the United States in the wake of the 1997–1998 El Niño—Southern Oscillation. Journal of Infectious Diseases 181:1569–1573.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes JM Peters CJ (1993) Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome: an emerging infectious disease. Science 262:850–951.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuenzi AJ, Douglass RJ, Bond CW, Calisher CH, Mills JN (2005) Long-term dynamics of Sin Nombre viral RNA and antibody in deer mice in Montana. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41:473–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuenzi AJ, Douglass RJ, White D, Bond CW, Mills JN (2001) Antibody to Sin Nombre virus in rodents associated with peridomestic habitats in west central Montana. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 64:137–146.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nichol ST, Spiropoulou CF, Morzunov S, Rollin PE, Ksiazek TG, Feldmann H, et al. (1993) Genetic identification of a hantavirus associated with an outbreak of acute respiratory illness. Science 262:914–917.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Otteson EW, Riolo J, Rowe JE, Nichol ST, Ksiazek TG, Rollin PE, et al. (1996) Occurrence of hantavirus within the rodent population of northeastern California and Nevada. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 54:127–133.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shechmeister IL (1991) Sterilization by ultraviolet irradiation. In: Disinfection, Sterilization, and Preservation, Block SS (editor), Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, p 553.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeitz PS, Butler JC, Cheek JE, Samuel MC, Childs JE, Shands LA, et al. (1995) A case control study of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome during an outbreak in the southwestern United States. Journal of Infectious Diseases 171:864–870.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeitz PS, Graber JM, Voorhees RA, Kioski C, Shands LA, Ksiazek TG, et al. (1997) Assessment of occupational risk for hantavirus infection in Arizona and New Mexico. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 39:463–467.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Many thanks go to Charles Calisher, Terry Spear, and Julie Hart for their guidance on this manuscript. We are grateful to James Mills, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dave Carter, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, for their helpful suggestions to the survey. We thank Tessa Spear, Christopher Magnuson, and Levi Mork with their assistance in the field, administering surveys. We are also grateful to Roger Jensen, and Chip Todd, Montana Tech, for their assistance in statistical analysis. Suggestions from two anonymous reviewers helped improve this paper greatly. This survey was evaluated and deemed ethical by the University of Montana’s Internal Review Board (45 CFR 46.101(b)(2)). This study was supported by NIH grant P20 RR16455-06-07,08 from the INBRE-BRIN program of the National Center for Research Resources and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, through cooperative agreement. The findings and conclusions presented here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agencies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Industrial Hygiene, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, 1300 Park Street, Butte, MT, 59701, USA

    Barbara J. Cline

  2. Department of Biology, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, 1300 Park Street, Butte, MT, 59701, USA

    Scott Carver & Richard J. Douglass

Authors
  1. Barbara J. Cline
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Scott Carver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard J. Douglass
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott Carver.

Appendix

Appendix

Survey Sent to Western Montana Farmers and Ranchers

Information gathered will be used to determine if there is a seasonality of activities and tasks done in outbuildings. Outbuildings include: barns, stables, detached garages, chicken coops, storages for harvested feed/grain, calving/lambing sheds, gardening/tool sheds, tractor/heavy equipment/combine sheds. Researchers have already discovered that the hantavirus can survive longer in outbuildings, where it is protected from UV light. This information will help to establish which activities are most performed during the window when hantavirus patients became infected. Please fill in the blanks for each season with your best estimate. Only count the number of times that you, not including any other worker or family member, enter an outbuilding during each season.

Each season is approximately 90 days, or 13 weeks.

Season Dates: [Spring: Mar 21–Jun 20], [Summer: Jun 21–Sep 20], [Fall: Sep 21–Dec 20], [Winter: Dec 21–Mar 20]

  1. 1.

    How many times do you usually scoop grain/feed into a container for the purpose of feeding animals in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  2. 2.

    How many times do you usually sweep or do any other cleaning task inside an outbuilding in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  3. 3.

    How many times do you usually enter an outbuilding for calving or lambing in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer__________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  4. 4.

    How many times do you usually park or drive out any type of heavy equipment in an outbuilding in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  5. 5.

    How many times do you usually enter an outbuilding to get a tool/item or to store a tool/item in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  6. 6.

    How many times do you usually do any type of equipment maintenance in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  7. 7.

    How many times do you usually feed livestock that are housed inside the outbuilding in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  8. 8.

    How many times do you usually make repairs to the inside of the outbuilding in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  9. 9.

    Other activity or task you do that requires you to enter an outbuilding? Please describe:

    _____________________________________________

    _____________________________________________

    How many times does this task require you to enter an outbuilding in the:

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

  10. 10.

    How many full (all day) workdays do you usually spend inside an outbuilding during the: (90 days/season)

    1. a.

      Spring __________

    2. b.

      Summer __________

    3. c.

      Fall __________

    4. d.

      Winter __________

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cline, B.J., Carver, S. & Douglass, R.J. Relationship of Human Behavior within Outbuildings to Potential Exposure to Sin Nombre Virus in Western Montana. EcoHealth 7, 389–393 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-010-0318-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-010-0318-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation