Ross Wardrup<p>As someone prone to health anxiety, and an epidemiologist in training, I get the occasional scare.</p><p>Today I was halfway through leaf-blowing our garage before noticing mouse droppings. In Colorado, deer mice are common. They are the primary reservoir of Hantavirus, which spreads via aerosolized feces and urine (CDC, 2025).</p><p>For repeated occupational exposure, Hantavirus has an estimated attack rate of 0.00071, or 1 case per 1,412 individuals exposed via rodent handling (PMID: 18252096). This, however, was a short, one-time exposure.</p><p>With a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of ~35% (PMID: 21762572), my estimated odds of infection from this incident are about 1 in 3,332, then a 35% chance of death if infected.</p><p>The risk is low, but the reminder is important: never sweep or blow around mouse droppings. Spray, soak, and wipe. Even anxious epidemiologists need that reminder.</p><p>CDPHE - <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/about/index.html" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">cdc.gov/hantavirus/about/index</span><span class="invisible">.html</span></a></p><p><a href="https://babka.social/tags/Hantavirus" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Hantavirus</span></a> <a href="https://babka.social/tags/HealthAnxiety" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HealthAnxiety</span></a> <a href="https://babka.social/tags/Epidemiology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Epidemiology</span></a> <a href="https://babka.social/tags/InfectiousDiseaseEpidemiology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InfectiousDiseaseEpidemiology</span></a> <a href="https://babka.social/tags/EnvironmentalEpidemiology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalEpidemiology</span></a></p>