HPS is a severe and potentially deadly disease that affects the lungs. Symptoms of HPS usually start to show 1 to 8 weeks after contact with an infected rodent.

Early symptoms can include:

fatigue fever muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups like the thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders About half of all HPS patients also experience:

headaches dizziness chills abdominal problems, like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain Four to 10 days after the initial phase of illness, the late symptoms of HPS appear. These symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. Patients might experience tightness in the chest, as the lungs fill with fluid.

HPS can be deadly. Thirty-eight percent of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from the disease.

Hantavirus can be spread once mild symptoms appear, which unfortunately are so mild that most people wouldn’t even think about it being hantavirus. And it can take up to 8 weeks for symptoms to start to appear.