29,000 possibly exposed to virus
| The most recent person killed by the rare hantavirus pulmonary syndrome was part of a growing group of Yosemite National Park visitors all believed to have been infected around the same time in June while staying in a specific style of cabin in a popular lodging area, park officials confirmed Friday.
Additionally, Yosemite officials are now saying that about 29,000 visitors since the beginning of June could have been exposed to the virus.
The victim, a tourist from Kanawha County, West Virginia, stayed in a “signature tent cabin” in Curry Village sometime in mid-June like those in all but one of the eight other hantavirus cases linked to the park this summer, according to Yosemite spokeswoman Kari Cobb.
She said the West Virginia victim died in late-July, but the death wasn’t officially confirmed as hantavirus and linked to the park until Thursday morning.
“That person died but they weren’t sure why, so they went back and did testing and confirmed it as hantavirus. That’s why we found out about it so late,” Cobb said.
The two other fatal cases, a 36-year-old Alameda County man who died July 31 and a 45-year-old man from Pennsylvania who died Aug. 12, are both linked to stays in Curry Village’s signature tent cabins sometime in June as well.
Officials are withholding the age, gender and date of death of the third victim at the request of family members.
The names of all eight people infected this summer have also not been released.
Symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome begin with fever and aches similar to the flu, but can move on to respiratory problems that can result in.. http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/29000-possibly-exposed-to-virus
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