2012 Yosemite hantavirus outbreak

Viral outbreak in California, US May 2026 May 2026 2012 Yosemite hantavirus outbreak Curry Village Yosemite.jpg Tent cabins in Curry Village Curry Village, Yosemite National Park, California, United States 2012 Hantavirus infection, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome Sin Nombre hantavirus 10 3 The 2012 Yosemite hantavirus outbreak was an outbreak of hantavirus infections linked to visits to Yosemite National Park in California, United States, during 2012.Conover Michael R. Vail Rosanna M. Human Diseases from Wildlife 2015 CRC Press Boca Ratan 978-1-4665-6214-1 380 https://books.google.com/books?id=oopqBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA380 en 23. HantavirusesDanforth Mary E. Messenger Sharon Buttke Danielle Weinburke Matthew Carroll George Hacker Gregory Niemela Michael Andrews Elizabeth S. Jackson Bryan T. Kramer Vicki Novak Mark Long-Term Rodent Surveillance after Outbreak of Hantavirus Infection, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, 2012 Emerging Infectious Diseases March 2020 26 3 560–567 10.3201/eid2603.191307 32091360 7045852 1080-6059 The outbreak was unusual and represented a rare type of hantavirus outbreak, linked to rodent exposure in a specific type of housing. History The outbreak was associated primarily with tent cabins in Curry Village, where visitors were exposed to deer mice carrying the Sin Nombre hantavirus strain.Hartline James Mierek Chris Knutson Tristan Kang Christopher Hantavirus infection in North America: a clinical review The American Journal of Emergency Medicine 1 June 2013 31 6 978–982 10.1016/j.ajem.2013.02.001 23680331 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675713000703 0735-6757 subscription Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – Yosemite National Park, United States of America https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2012_09_04-en World Health Organization 4 September 2012 9 May 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260511050316/https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2012_09_04-en 11 May 2026Krautkrämer Ellen Kruger Detlev H. Zeier Martin Recent outbreaks of hantavirus disease in Germany and in the United States Kidney International 2 December 2012 82 12 1243–1245 10.1038/ki.2012.359 23203017 https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(15)55502-6/fulltext English 0085-2538 The outbreak resulted in nine confirmed cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in visitors to Curry Village, and in one who lived 15 miles away. Three people died from the disease. Following the discovery of the outbreak, the National Park Service closed and disinfected hundreds of tent cabins and notified thousands of visitors who may have been exposed.Vitek Christopher R. Breiman Robert F. Hantavirus Infections among Overnight Visitors to Yosemite National Park, California, USA, 2012 Emerging Infectious Diseases 20 3 2014 386–393 10.3201/eid2003.131581 24565589 3944872 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/3/13-1581_article 9 May 2026 Health authorities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and California investigated the outbreak. Officials determined that insulation in the tent cabin walls provided nesting spaces for infected rodents, increasing the risk of human exposure.Epidemiological update: Hantavirus outbreak at Yosemite Park, 9 September 2012 https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/epidemiological-update-hantavirus-outbreak-yosemite-park-9-september-2012 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 9 September 2012 9 May 2026 Significance At least until 2014, the 2012 hantavirus outbreak at Yosemite National Park was the largest recognised Sin Nombre virus outbreak in the U.S. since the 1993 Four Corners hantavirus outbreak, and included a case of HPS with an unusually long 49 days incubation period.Núñez Jonathan J. Fritz Curtis L. Knust Barbara Buttke Danielle Enge Barryett Novak Mark G. Kramer Vicki Osadebe Lynda Messenger Sharon Albariño César G. Ströher Ute Niemela Michael Amman Brian R. Wong David Manning Craig R. Nichol Stuart T. Rollin Pierre E. Xia Dongxiang Watt James P. Vugia Duc J. Hantavirus infections among overnight visitors to Yosemite National Park, California, USA, 2012 Emerging Infectious Diseases March 2014 20 3 386–393 10.3201/eid2003.131581 24565589 3944872 1080-6059Vial Pablo A. Ferrés Marcela Vial Cecilia Klingström Jonas Ahlm Clas López René Le Corre Nicole Mertz Gregory J. Hantavirus in humans: a review of clinical aspects and management The Lancet. Infectious Diseases September 2023 23 9 e371–e382 10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00128-7 37105214 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37105214/ 15 May 2026 1474-4457Hantavirus surveillance in the U.S. commenced in 1993. From then to 2023, 890 cases were reported in the U.S.Reported Cases of Hantavirus Disease https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/data-research/cases/index.html www.cdc.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 10 May 2026 en-us 8 May 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260510164907/https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/data-research/cases/index.html 10 May 2026 The outbreak led to a marked increase in testing for Sin Nombre virus specific IgM by the National Reference Laboratory in 2012.Landry Marie Louise Immunoglobulin M for Acute Infection: True or False? Clinical and Vaccine Immunology July 2016 23 7 540–545 10.1128/CVI.00211-16 27193039 4933779 1556-679XPrince Harry E. Lieberman Jay M. Impact of the Yosemite Hantavirus Outbreak on Hantavirus Antibody Testing at a National Reference Laboratory Clinical and Vaccine Immunology August 2013 20 8 1213–1216 10.1128/CVI.00326-13 23740929 3754509 The additional data helped refine hantavirus antibody testing algorithms and improve specificity by raising the cutoff required for a positive result, thereby reducing false-positive results. The social significance of the 2012 Yosemite hantavirus outbreak included increased public awareness and fear of rodent-borne disease, disruption to tourism at Yosemite National Park, and improved public health communication, surveillance, and prevention measures for HPS.Bach Michelle Social Implications of the Yosemite Hantavirus Outbreak Pathways: Stanford Journal of Public Health (SJPH) 2017 6 23–26 https://ojs.stanford.edu/ojs/index.php/sjph/article/view/1227 en https://web.archive.org/web/20260510164155/https://ojs.stanford.edu/ojs/index.php/sjph/article/view/1227 10 May 2026 Timeline 2012 2 July: Onset of illness in an affected individual who had been staying at Curry Village since 3 June. 16 August: California Department of Public Health report two confirmed cases of HPS in Californians who had resided in Yosemite National Park.Notes from the Field: Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in Visitors to a National Park — Yosemite Valley, California, 2012 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6146a5.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 16 November 2012 9 May 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260510165850/https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6146a5.htm 10 May 2026 Osadebe Lynda U. 21–22 August: 185 traps are placed around Curry Village. 27 August: US National Park Service report that in 2012 three visitors of Yosemite National Park had been diagnosed with HPS and a further visitor was suspected as having the illness. All four visitors, two of whom died, had stayed at the Curry Village's signature tent cabins. Other visitors contacted and asked to seek medical attention if have symptoms. 28 August: All 91 signature tent cabins at Yosemite are closed. 30 August: US National Park Service report total confirmed cases reaches six. 4–5 September: 89 traps placed in Tuolumne Meadows and 133 in Curry Village. 1 November: US National Park Service report total confirmed cases reaches 10, with three deaths. Nine of 10 cases reported to have stayed at signature tent cabins in Curry Village. 2013 25 May: Hantavirus is detected in 14% of Curry Village's deer mice. See also MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak Notes References 2 External links "Doctor offers hantavirus answers to counter Yosemite outbreak fears", Mariposa Gazette "Dr. Charles Chiu discusses hantavirus relevant to Yosemite", UC San Francisco Category:2012 disease outbreaks Category:Hantavirus outbreaks Category:Disease outbreaks in the United States Category:Yosemite National Park Category:2012 in California Category:Disease outbreaks in California Category:2012 disasters in the United States Category:Infectious disease deaths in California