Boy Scout camp employee survives rare virus

HARRISBURG - A man who worked at a Boy Scout camp in Clearfield County has recovered from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal pneumonia-like virus carried by rodents, the state Health Department said yesterday.

The unidentified 40-year-old, who worked at a camp west of State College, was hospitalized after falling ill this month but has been discharged, said Dan Miller, a department spokesman.

Hantavirus is carried by rodents, especially mice and rats, primarily in rural areas. People are infected by inhaling particles of the virus or by contact with rodents' urine, droppings or nests. The disease cannot be spread from person to person.

Although there is no specific treatment for hantavirus, early diagnosis is important for recovery.

The camp has since cleaned rodent droppings in buildings, put in traps and poison bait, and sealed openings to keep rodents out, the Health Department said. Because the camp took immediate steps to avoid further exposure, it was allowed to remain open, officials said.

Hantavirus was first identified in the United States during a 1993 outbreak in the Four Corners area of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. Most cases still occur in the West, and in the last decade, only three cases had been diagnosed in Pennsylvania residents before this month, the Health Department said. Two of them died.