Hantavirus at Yosemite

[NN5I]

A friend recently inquired whether I'd visited Yosemite. She was worried because of the reports of Hantavirus infections affecting Yosemite visitors.

Some research revealed that Hantavirus is acquired by humans mostly by breathing aerosolized mouse whiz.

I can't help wondering about the scientists who established the transmission path. I visualize two researchers trying to keep track of which samples belong to whom, with one of them inquiring poetically,

Does this mouse pee
Belong to me,
Or is the murine urine your'n?

[Radio]

How, exactly, does mouse whiz become aerosolized?

:think:

Speculation, anyone?

[NN5I]

How, exactly, does mouse whiz become aerosolized?

Easily, I would think. Rodents of many kinds urinate pretty generally in their living spaces; perhaps that's part of the reason they're typically not esteemed as articles of cuisine.

I think it would be hard to avoid creating some airborne microdroplets when, for example, using a broom or a vacuum cleaner to remove mouse nests (or rat nests).

Perhaps, also, the various members of the genus mus -- rats, mice, gerbils, etc. -- might spray when under attack, say by a camper with a stick or broom, even just stomping or kicking. Rodents and their nests are biohazards, most especially in areas where Hantavirus exists in the wild.