The deadly hantavirus has arrived in the UK. It is thought that either rats or mice from Asia were carrying the disease and brought it into the Humber region of the UK. The virus causes haemorrhagic fever and possible death. A major outbreak of the hantavirus in Yosemite National Park , USA, caused several deaths. The fear is that cats hunting the rodents could contract the condition and thereby transmit it to their owners. However the Center for Disease Control has state unequivocally that there is no evidence that this transmission from cats to humans is likely. Nonetheless cat owners should not handle mice killed and brought in by their pets.
Sources: Eurosurveillance, The Daily Telegraph,CDC Atlanta USA Jan 2013
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