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3 Hantavirus Cases Reported In Colorado This Year

DENVER (AP) — Three people in Colorado have tested positive for Hantavirus this year, and state officials are warning about the dangers of rodents passing the disease to humans.

Colorado Public Radio reported Monday the latest human case occurred late last month when a Delta County man was bitten by a rodent and hospitalized.

State veterinarian Elisabeth Lawaczeck says the virus can also be passed to humans by inhaling rodent feces.

She says rodent droppings should be wetted down and wiped up and not vacuumed or swept.

Hantavirus is a respiratory disease. It's rare but the mortality rate is high. Nationwide, 36 percent of people who contract hantavirus die from it.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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