Chile On Alert As Prison Rats Spread Hantavirus

February 7, 2012 – CHILE – Chile has declared a public health alert with a Hantavirus outbreak killing three people and infecting 10 others. Health Minister Jaime Manalich blames wildfires in the southern Bio Bio and Araucania regions for driving rats from their normal habitat into places where people live.

The outbreak began in the El Manzano prison, where two inmates died and 10 others are sick. Authorities learned on Sunday that two prison workers have symptoms, and a person camping outside Concepcion died of the virus. Hantavirus is not contagious; it’s spread by exposure to rat droppings and urine. Once it reaches the lungs, the chance of survival is 50 percent. The minister told Radio Cooperativa Monday this may be the start of a much wider problem. –Official Wire

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