Hantavirus in United States — 2012

Yosemite tent-cabin outbreak forces NPS to redesign accommodations

Overview

In summer 2012, the National Park Service identified an HPS cluster among visitors who had stayed in the double-walled tent cabins at Curry Village in Yosemite Valley. Ten confirmed Sin Nombre virus cases and three deaths were linked to the cabins, where deer-mouse infestation between the inner and outer canvas layers had created an unusually high-aerosol exposure environment. The outbreak prompted CDC and California Department of Public Health investigation, recall of hundreds of cabin users for clinical follow-up, and a redesign of NPS visitor accommodations to eliminate the inaccessible cavity that had harboured the rodent population. The Yosemite cluster remains the largest single-source HPS outbreak ever documented in the United States.

United States baseline

Highest case counts in western and southwestern states (NM, CO, AZ, CA). Sin Nombre virus is the dominant strain.

Source: CDC Hantavirus Surveillance

Relevant strain

References & primary sources

• CDC MMWR 2012 — HPS Among Yosemite Visitors

Other years tracked for United States