90-Second Read: Health leaders offer safety tips after Colorado Hantavirus death

Colorado has recorded the second-highest number of Hantavirus cases in the country since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention starting tracking cases in 1993. COLORADO (KKTV), An adult who lived in Douglas County has died of Hantavirus in a case that is not connected to a recent outbreak on a cruise ship. On Monday, leaders with UCHealth offered advice for staying safe.

One issue, according to UCHealth, is the disease's long incubation period, which can last up to six weeks. The Douglas County death is linked to a different strain of the virus than the one that killed three people related to the cruise ship outbreak. According to the Douglas County Health Department (DCHD), the deer mouse is the species that most commonly exposes humans to the virus in Colorado.

UCHealth said rodent droppings, urine, and saliva can become aerosolized during cleaning and inhaling the virus is the biggest cause of infection. UCHealth experts recommend airing out spaces before cleaning and wearing a mask while working. Of the 133 people in Colorado who contracted the virus, 55 of those have died.