Dealing with Mouse damage? (Not the computer kind)

From: Dave Dunfield <dave04a_at_dunfield.com>
Date: Sat Nov 20 21:12:48 2004

[Wow - C.L.C. has an automatic spell checker on the subject line :-]

>The conclusion is that, yes, you should always be careful, but Hantavirus
>is not ubiquitous, and you shouldn't panic if you accidentally come in
>contact with rodent poop.

Yeah, thats pretty much what I have determined, although I will be excercising
more caution when I find mouse "residue" from now on.

This particular machine was in a garage in the middle of Toronto. From what I
have read, the virus is carried by deer mice, which are less likely to be found
in the city. Also there have been no reports of HPS in Toronto (closest is infected
mice found in Northern Ontario which is quite some distance away). So I think the
chances of a problem are minimal - nonetheless, since I'm scheduled for checkup
this week anyway, I think it's serious enough that I'm going to mention my
activities to my doc.

For now, the machine is "double bagged" and not in the house - when I can work
on it outside and with the right precautions, I will see what I can do with it.

One question I have not found an answer to is "How long can the virus remain
alive in a dormant state - outside of a host"?

Most of the information I have seen suggests washing suspected areas with a 10%
bleach solution, and to let it sit for at least 5 mins.

Anyone know if this would be safe for a PCB? Assuming it was immediately rinsed
afterward with distilled water and well dried? - Unfortunately there's a keyboard
included in the PCB assembly...


Regards,
-- 
dave04a (at)    Dave Dunfield
dunfield (dot)  Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com
com             Vintage computing equipment collector.
                http://www.parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.html
Received on Sat Nov 20 2004 - 21:12:48 GMT

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