[pianotech] Hanta virus in WA state

[William Monroe]

David,

While it is an important consideration, one thing to note that, thankfully,
was included in the article is this:

"The virus is spread when *fresh* urine, droppings or nesting materials are
stirred up, such as by sweeping, according to the federal health agency.
That allows the virus to get into the air and for it to be inhaled. Instead
of vaccuuming or sweeping around where mice have been, health officials
recommend cleaning up with water and bleach."

Having worked in a former life as a field biologist, working closely with
the white-footed mouse (*Peromyscus leucopa)* and the deer mouse (*Peromyscus
maniculatus)*, it was important for me to pay attention to these things.
Both are carriers of Hantavirus, as well as the cotton rats and rice rats in
the Southeast. However, as a piano technician, most of what we deal with is
far from fresh, and the virus is only capable of living outside it's host
for 2-3 days at 70 degrees Farenheit.

This from the CDC, "The length of time hantaviruses can remain infectious in
the environment is variable and depends on environmental conditions, such as
temperature and humidity, whether the virus is indoors or outdoors or
exposed to the sun, and even on the rodent’s diet (which would affect the
chemistry of its urine). Viability for 2 or 3 days has been shown at normal
room temperature. Exposure to sunlight will decrease the time of viability,
and freezing temperatures will actually increase the time that the virus
remains viable. Since the survival of infectious virus is measured in terms
of hours or days, *only active infestations* of infected rodents result in
conditions that are likely to lead to human hantavirus infection. "

So, I think we need to act with care and caution when we discover rodent
"stuff," as we probably don't know the last time a rodent was there with
certainty, but it's not as big a threat as some would have us believe.  If
in doubt, isolate the piano and make sure rodents aren't getting in for a
week, then come back and clean.

William R. Monroe




On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 10:59 PM, David Stocker <firtreepiano at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100814/NEWS01/708149878&news01ad=1#With.small.warning.hantavirus.overtook.Everett.man
>
> Important to note cleaning procedures towards the end of the article. Have
> to think twice before blowing out that action if mice were involved.
>
> David Stocker, RPT
> Tumwater, WA
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100815/9e1b541b/attachment-0001.htm>