Two more suspected cases of the rare hantavirus, one of them a fatality, have been found among people who visited Yosemite National Park in mid-June, park leaders announced Monday.
All told, four people are now believed to have contracted the virus while staying at the park this summer. Two died, including a 37-year-old Alameda County man.
The four stayed in separate tent cabins in Curry Village located within 100 feet of each other, park ranger Scott Gediman said Monday.
People typically get the rare disease from exposure to the droppings, urine or saliva of wild mice.
The park concessionaire is attempting to contact visitors who stayed in a Signature Tent Cabin from mid-June through the end of August to advise them to seek immediate medical attention if they exhibit any signs of hantavirus.
The disease often begins with a fever, headache and muscle aches, but can progress rapidly to a life-threatening illness.
Symptoms may develop as late as six weeks after exposure.
People with questions can call 209-372-0822 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
The fatality announced Monday involved an adult male from out of state, Gediman said. One of the two people recovering was an Inland Empire woman in her 40s. Gediman said he had no details about the second person.
"The health of our visitors is our paramount concern, and we are making every effort to notify and inform our visitors of any potential illness," said Don
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Neubacher, the park superintendent, in a prepared statement.
The park district, working with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is asking state and local health departments nationwide to be on the lookout for other suspected cases.
Every park visitor is now being handed information about the hantavirus and notifications are posted throughout the park, Gediman said.
For the most part, the tent cabins remain open. "We've done a thorough cleansing of them," he said.
Park officials have been retrofitting the tent cabins to block areas where mice might enter, Gediman said.
The park is also increasing its rodent trapping.
Two people became sick with the hantavirus after visiting Yosemite in previous years -- one in 2010 and another in 2000. They had stayed in Tuolumne Meadows, and both survived.
Since the hantavirus was first identified in 1993, about 587 cases have been found nationally, including 60 in California. About one third of the cases are fatal.
Sandy Kleffman covers health. Contact her at 510-293-2478. Follow her at Twitter.com/skleffman.