YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A second person has died of a rare, rodent-borne disease after visiting Yosemite National Park earlier this summer and park officials are warning past visitors to be aware of some flu-like aches and symptoms as fears of a possible outbreak mount.
Health officials learned this weekend of the second hantavirus death, which killed a person who visited the park in June, spokesman Scott Gediman said in a statement.
There is one other confirmed case of the illness, and a fourth is being investigated.
Park officials are warning visitors who stayed in tent cabins at Curry Village from mid-June through the end of August to beware of any symptoms of hantavirus, which can include fever, aches, dizziness and chills.
Federal health officials say symptoms may develop up to 5 weeks after exposure to urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. There is no specific treatment for the virus, and about one-third of people who contract it will die.
After-hours calls to Yosemite officials seeking further details were not immediately returned Monday night.
The first death was reported earlier this month.
Following the first death, state health officials advised anyone with symptoms to seek medical attention and let doctors know if they were camping in Yosemite. Officials said thousands of people visit the park every month, so it would be impossible to track everyone who had set foot in Curry Village.
Curry Village is the most popular and economical lodging area in the park, a picturesque assemblage of rustic cabins at the base of the 3,000-foot promontory Glacier Point.
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Online:
— Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s site on hantavirus: http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/
