San Diego County officials are advising the public to take extra care when cleaning mice and rodent nests after a mouse, caught in routine trapping, tested positive for hantavirus. The mouse was caught in North County’s Pala Mesa and is the sixth mouse to test positive for the lethal virus this year.
“There are two important things people need to remember to help protect themselves,” said County Environmental Health Director Liz Pozzebon. “First, avoid exposure. And second, if you have to clean an area where rodents have been, do not sweep or vacuum. Use wet cleaning methods.”
In addition, San Diego County officials issued an alert last week after two squirrels trapped in routine monitoring at an empty outdoor school on Palomar Mountain have tested positive for plague. The squirrels were trapped on property at Camp Palomar Outdoor School, which was undergoing summer maintenance and not scheduled to be used by campers until Aug. 25.
This prompted officials to remind people to take simple steps to protect themselves when camping and hiking. “When you’re enjoying the outdoors, just remember —don’t feed or play with squirrels; don’t play near squirrel burrows or set up your tents around them; and report dead squirrels to camp rangers,” said San Diego County Environmental Health Director Liz Pozzebon. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
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