| False
E-mail Reports |
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False
E-mail Report: Hantavirus Spread by Contact with Soda Cans or Grocery
Packages
Find
additional information on other e-mail reports on the Current
Health-Related Hoaxes and Rumors CDC page.
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The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received several inquiries
about an e-mail report of a stock clerk who became infected with hantavirus
while working in a storeroom. According to the e-mail message, the infection
resulted from exposure to dried rodent droppings that were contaminated
with hantavirus. The e-mail message warns the reader to take precautions
when handling items such as soda cans and grocery packages (for example,
cereal boxes) because they may be contaminated with hantavirus.
The e-mail
report is untrue. CDC could not substantiate this report of a hantavirus
infection, nor has CDC been asked to participate in an investigation of
the incident described in the e-mail.
Hantaviruses
can cause a serious, often life-threatening disease called hantavirus
pulmonary syndrome, or HPS. The viruses are carried by certain species
of mice and can be spread to humans by exposure to virus-contaminated
rodent droppings, urine, or saliva.
For more
information about hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and ways to reduce the
risk for exposure to hantaviruses, please refer to the CDC All
About Hantavirus Web site.
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