Subject: Live Animal | Type: Photo | Life Stages And Gender: Adult/Sexually Mature | Anatomy: Body Parts :: Eyes | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Cryptic
This is a deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, a hantavirus carrier that becomes a threat when it enters human habitation in rural and suburban areas.Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva. Humans can contract the disease when they breathe in aerosolized virus. HPS was first recognized in 1993, and has since been identified throughout the United States. Although rare, HPS is potentially deadly. Rodent control in and around the home remains the primary strategy for preventing hantavirus infection. All hantaviruses known to cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) are carried by New World rats and mice of the family Muridae, subfamily Sigmodontinae, which contains at least 430 species that are widespread throughout North and South America.Created:
This photograph depicted a deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, which has been determined to be one of the reservoirs and transmitters of the Hantavirus. Through the deposition of its waste products in, and around human habitation, this mouse becomes a carrier of the virus responsible for causing Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, or HPS.P. maniculatus is a deceptively cute animal, with big eyes and big ears. Its head and body are normally about 2 - 3 inches long, and the tail adds another 2 - 3 inches in length. You may see it in a variety of colors, from gray to reddish brown, depending on its age. The underbelly is always white and the tail has sharply defined white sides. The deer mouse is found almost everywhere in North America. Though this mouse prefers woodlands, it also turns up in desert areas.Created:
