A possible case of hantavirus at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center led to a quick response by the certified Health Facility Maintenance crew to decontaminate and stop the spread of the rodent-borne disease.

ABC7 Eyewitness News confirmed that a 38-year-old inmate at SQRC contracted a possible case of hantavirus. Later reports revealed the suspected case was ruled a false positive.

“Everybody evacuated the building,” said SQRC resident HFM worker Gordon Kimbrough. “We suited up, went in and followed policy and procedure in the cleaning, decontaminating, and disposal of possibly hazardous materials.”

According to Kimbrough, as soon as the announcement of the potentially hazardous infection came through, his supervisor led them into the building containing the possible threat. Before entering, the team was given added precautions as a reminder of the severity of the situation.

“There is no specific cure or antiviral medication for hantavirus,” noted Johns Hopkins Medicine.

ABC7 reported that SQRC had no quarantine in place and the resident is said to be in stable condition.

“Supposedly the guy who got sick ate some food that was contaminated,” Kimbrough said.

Hantavirus is a rare but severe family of viruses typically spread by deer mice, rats, and wild rodents. People primarily become infected by breathing in the virus from contaminated airborne particles of rodent droppings, saliva, or urine, according to the California Department of Public Health.

According to the World Health Organization, some types of the disease are: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which affects the heart and lungs—found in North and South America—and causes severe respiratory distress with a fatality rate of 20% to 50%. 

Moreover, hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome—found mainly in Asia and Europe—affects the kidneys’ blood vessels and causes bleeding.

In addition, the infamous Andes hantavirus gained notoriety when a group of Californians aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship was exposed to an outbreak of the disease.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the symptom-monitoring period ended for most of the Californians exposed to the Andes hantavirus outbreak on the ship.

CDC reported that the current risk of public exposure to the Andes hantavirus remains very low.

Earlier in the year, the SQ News article “Construction Leads to Rat Infestation,” by Kevin D. Sawyer, brought attention to the new construction inside the facility as a cause for the growing number of rodents inside the buildings. 

The article shined a light on an SQRC team of carpenters doubling as pest control combatants who are diligently trying to eradicate the pests. “We’re rodent hitmen,” said the staff supervisor, Joe Career, working alongside three resident tradesmen.

Victor Mendoza, Steve Stevens, and Alan Cruz loaded old-fashioned spring traps, spread peppermint oil repellent, and placed glue strips down to catch or detour the pests. In addition, the carpenters plugged holes, repaired windows, and installed weatherstripping that closed the gaps where rodents might squeeze their way into various buildings within the facility, noted the article.

WHO states that risk of rodent contact and transmission of hantavirus happens when people are in poorly ventilated spaces without proper protection or exposed to the contaminated dust while cleaning. 

To prevent possible exposure to the disease, avoid sweeping or vacuuming, which aerosolizes contaminants. Instead, wear gloves, ventilate the area, and wet the droppings with a bleach and water solution before safely wiping them up, according to www.michiganmedicine.org

Early symptoms of contacting hantavirus are headaches, fever, fatigue, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal complaints (diarrhea, vomiting). Symptoms typically appear one to eight weeks after exposure.

Advanced symptoms: Within a few days, the illness can rapidly progress to coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and fluid in the lungs, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“With the exception of Andes virus (found in South America) hantaviruses do not spread between humans,” noted CDC. “The Andes virus can occasionally spread person-to-person through prolonged, close contact.”