After a second hantavirus infection was reported from the O’Higgins region, south of Santiago, in under a week, the area health office reminded residents and people planning recreational activities in rural locations to ensure they follow some precautions. For those camping and hiking, the advice includes ‘Walk only on improved trails. Do not go into bushes and grasslands. Do not collect or eat wild fruits. Keep garbage in closed containers; if necessary, bury it. Drink only safe water (potable, bottled, boiled or disinfected)’, all aimed at avoiding contamination from the virus’ rodent reservoir, the long-tailed pygmy rice rat. Also on hantaviruses, five hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases have been reported this year from widespread locations in the Four Corners region of SW USA – one person has died. The area is endemic for the Sin Nombre hantavirus. Read more
Advice for travellers
Hantavirus is passed on to humans through contact with hantavirus-infected rodents or their urine and droppings. Eliminating rats in and around living quarters is the main way of preventing hantavirus infection. Cases have been documented in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay, making HPS a pan-hemispheric disease. Read more about hantavirus.
Before you travel, call Travelvax Australia’s telephone advisory service on 1300 360 164 (toll-free from landlines) for country-specific advice and information. You can also make an appointment at your nearest Travelvax clinic to obtain vaccinations, medication to prevent or treat illness, and accessories for your journey.