Share and Follow
Yikes—that’s quite unsettling!
Residents of New York City are at risk of contracting hantavirus from the rats that inhabit the area, but only if they engage in particularly unsanitary activities, an infectious disease specialist cautioned on Friday.
“The infamous Pizza Rat isn’t a threat unless you’re actually consuming its droppings or coming into contact with its urine,” Dr. Ulysses Wu from Hartford Healthcare explained to The Post.
When questioned about the possibility of the rodents infesting the subway system transmitting the virus to the city’s inhabitants, he assured, “That’s not a concern.”
The risk of catching the disease primarily arises for individuals who either ingest rat waste or breathe in airborne particles from it in confined spaces like attics or storage areas, he added.
The deadly virus has likely already been around the Big Apple for decades and gone under-diagnosed, Wu said.
“It wouldn’t all of a sudden start happening now,” he said. “People just need to be careful when they clean areas where rodents have been.”
Urban living folks, such as New York City residents, are actually less likely to contract the virus because its largely spread by deer mice, which are country-living creatures, said epidemiologist Michael Osterholm.
“That’s why we see cases more like in rural areas,” said Osterholm, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
He said folks should be careful not to “aerosol” rodent feces when cleaning.
“If you see mouse droppings, don’t sweep them or vacuum — use a wet disposable towel so you don’t get the virus into the air,” said Osterholm.
In total, roughly 900 cases of Hantavirus have been reported in the US since 1993, an average of about 27 cases a year, Wu said.
Roughly 35 to 40% of cases are fatal, and COVID-like symptoms include body aches, a chronic headache and fatigue.
A deadly outbreak of the virus spread this on the MV Hondius cruise ship this week, killing at least three passengers and sickening seven, according to the World Health Organization.
The outbreak likely originated from land-based exposure to rodents in Argentina.