WINDOW ROCK - A 36-year-old Navajo police officer diagnosed with the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome Monday morning is currently in critical condition at University Hospital in Albuquerque.

An investigation is ongoing as to where the officer, whose name was not released, may have contracted the virus. Hantavirus is spread through exposure to the infected urine, saliva and feces of rodents. It is spread by inhaling fumes and dust from the infected droppings and not through person-to-person contact.

Symptoms of fever, muscle aches, and possibly chills, nausea, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and cough develop within 1 to 6 weeks after rodent exposure. People who have or exhibit these symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately.

Capt. D.K. Thomas with the Crownpoint Police Department, which was where the officer is employed, wanted to quell fears that people may have, considering that the officer was a public figure. "It's very difficult to pinpoint where he may have picked up the virus," he said. "But we're taking safety measures with the assistance of the [Public Health Service] hospital in Crownpoint and the Environmental Health Specialist in Gallup." Thomas said that the police department's buildings have been inspected for droppings, sanitized, and decontaminated.

Ralph Fulgham, with Indian Health Service environmental health, said that the officer had been admitted to Gallup Indian Medical Center over the weekend and was transferred to Albuquerque on Sunday.

For two weeks prior to exhibiting symptoms, the officer had been in training in Phoenix. Fulgham said it was not very likely the man contracted the virus there, but it is one of the possibilities being investigated along with other places he had been.

In a statement, the New Mexico Department of Health urged the general public to familiarize themselves with the symptoms of hantavirus and seek medical attention early if they exhibit those symptoms.

There is no cure for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, but chances for recovery are better if it is diagnosed early. People are urged to take steps to avoid contact with deer mice and other rodents.

This is the second confirmed case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year. In April, a 38-year-old woman near Bloomfield was the first case confirmed. She recovered shortly thereafter.

The New Mexico Department of Health states that certain precautions should be taken to avoid contact with rodents and rodent droppings, and thereby prevent the transmission of the hantavirus. People should: · Air out closed up buildings before entering. · Seal up homes and cabins so mice donÕt get in. · Trap up mice until they are all gone. · Clean up nests and droppings using a disinfectant. · Put hay, wood, and compost piles as far as possible from your home. · Get rid of trash and junk piles · Don’t leave animal food and water where mice can get to it.

Spring is an especially dangerous time, as people open up buildings that have been closed for the winter and may have lots of mice inside.

Even though drought has reduced rodent populations, rodents, and especially deer mice, carrying hantavirus are still prevalent.

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