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Child Out of Intensive Care Reports Pine Ridge Reservation

Native News Network Staff in Native Health. Discussion »

PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION – Oglala Sioux President John Yellow Bird Steele's office released a statement reporting that a second young girl believed to be afflicted with the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, HPS, has been taken out of intensive care, but will remain hospitalized. The child is expected to be released within the week.

Native Health The Deer Mouse maybe the carrier of the hantavirus
on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

People become infected through contact with hantavirus infected rodents or their urine and droppings, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. The majority of cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, HPS, occur during the spring and summer, mostly in rural areas.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease in humans caused by infection with a hantavirus. People become infected through contact with hantavirus infected rodents, like the deer mouse, or their urine and droppings, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Anyone who comes into contact with rodents that carry hantavirus is at risk of HPS. Rodent infestation in and around the home remains the primary risk for hantavirus exposure. Even healthy individuals are at risk for HPS infection if exposed to the virus.

The CDC reports, no cases of HPS have been reported in the United States in which the virus was transmitted from one person to another.

Hantavirus Symptoms

In the first 3 to 7 days of hantavirus, many of its symptoms resemble those of a severe cold, the flu, or a gastrointestinal disease.

Fever
Chills
Headaches
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Fatigue
Muscle aches in the large muscle groups (ie, back, thighs, shoulders)

Parents should monitor their children for the symptoms of a severe cold or the flu and then develops shortness of breath or other respiratory problems, contact a doctor or health clinic immediately, if there is suspicion of the disease.

The tribe had previously reported that several families had been removed from their home and may have been exposed to hantavirus. The tribe took action after the death of a young girl last week, as the Native News Network reported here.

posted June 6, 2012 5:50 pm edt