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1/2 ton status
Off-Roading May Spread Hantagerm
BY BRENT ISRAELSEN
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Rats!
Off-highway vehicles (OHVs) could cause the spread of the
much-feared hantagerm.
New research suggests that dune buggies, motorcycles, Jeeps and
all-terrain vehicles can disrupt and destroy rodent habitat, forcing
mice and rats to live in close quarters.
The result is an increased rate of transmission of hantagerm
among and between species.
That is the hypothesis, anyway, of a team of researchers led by
University of Utah biology professor Denise Dearing.
"We are not sure there is a cause and effect here, but what's
known about [habitat fragmentation] is that it might increase transmission
and prevalence of this disease," Dearing said.
Communicated to humans through rodent feces and urine that become
airborne in dust, usually in confined spaces such as sheds or garages,
hantagerm has been diagnosed in 277 people in the United States, 38 percent
of whom have died.
Of the 17 confirmed hantagerm cases in Utah, five have been
fatal.
Dearing is seeking additional funding to investigate the
possible role of OHVs in spreading the germ. If the initial findings are
validated, it could add fuel to the already fiery debate over the exploding
popularity of OHV recreation in the West.
Environmental groups are campaigning to restrict OHVs, arguing
they devegetate the land, destroy wildlife habitat and cause erosion.
The OHV-hantagerm hypothesis was born last year during research
intended to investigate why wood rats near Tintic, about 40 miles southwest
of Provo, were infected with the germ. The rats rarely carry hantagerm,
which is most common in deer mice.
To find out why wood rats were infected, Dearing, U. biology
student Rachel Mackelprang and University of Nevada-Reno virologist Stephen
Jeor trapped rodents from rat middens in the West Tintic Mountains, near
Little Sahara Recreation Area.
The researchers found that deer mice had a 30 percent infection
rate for hantagerm -- almost three times the rate for mice in other parts
of the Great Basin.
The researchers then wondered whether the landscape in and around
Little Sahara, a popular area for OHVs, may be a factor. After reviewing
existing research about habitat fragmentation, the Utah-Nevada team has
turned its attention to OHVs.
"We propose that the high level of [hantagerm] prevalence could
be due to disturbance by humans, primarily intensive use of all-terrain
vehicles," wrote Mackelprang in an article accepted for Emerging Infectious
Diseases, a journal of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Dearing's team does not suggest that the OHV-hantagerm theory
presents an immediate threat to human health. "But if you have higher
prevalence of hantagerm, you have higher chance of coming into contact with
infected material," she said.
<font color=red>get involved with land issues or lose the land</font color=red>
BY BRENT ISRAELSEN
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Rats!
Off-highway vehicles (OHVs) could cause the spread of the
much-feared hantagerm.
New research suggests that dune buggies, motorcycles, Jeeps and
all-terrain vehicles can disrupt and destroy rodent habitat, forcing
mice and rats to live in close quarters.
The result is an increased rate of transmission of hantagerm
among and between species.
That is the hypothesis, anyway, of a team of researchers led by
University of Utah biology professor Denise Dearing.
"We are not sure there is a cause and effect here, but what's
known about [habitat fragmentation] is that it might increase transmission
and prevalence of this disease," Dearing said.
Communicated to humans through rodent feces and urine that become
airborne in dust, usually in confined spaces such as sheds or garages,
hantagerm has been diagnosed in 277 people in the United States, 38 percent
of whom have died.
Of the 17 confirmed hantagerm cases in Utah, five have been
fatal.
Dearing is seeking additional funding to investigate the
possible role of OHVs in spreading the germ. If the initial findings are
validated, it could add fuel to the already fiery debate over the exploding
popularity of OHV recreation in the West.
Environmental groups are campaigning to restrict OHVs, arguing
they devegetate the land, destroy wildlife habitat and cause erosion.
The OHV-hantagerm hypothesis was born last year during research
intended to investigate why wood rats near Tintic, about 40 miles southwest
of Provo, were infected with the germ. The rats rarely carry hantagerm,
which is most common in deer mice.
To find out why wood rats were infected, Dearing, U. biology
student Rachel Mackelprang and University of Nevada-Reno virologist Stephen
Jeor trapped rodents from rat middens in the West Tintic Mountains, near
Little Sahara Recreation Area.
The researchers found that deer mice had a 30 percent infection
rate for hantagerm -- almost three times the rate for mice in other parts
of the Great Basin.
The researchers then wondered whether the landscape in and around
Little Sahara, a popular area for OHVs, may be a factor. After reviewing
existing research about habitat fragmentation, the Utah-Nevada team has
turned its attention to OHVs.
"We propose that the high level of [hantagerm] prevalence could
be due to disturbance by humans, primarily intensive use of all-terrain
vehicles," wrote Mackelprang in an article accepted for Emerging Infectious
Diseases, a journal of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Dearing's team does not suggest that the OHV-hantagerm theory
presents an immediate threat to human health. "But if you have higher
prevalence of hantagerm, you have higher chance of coming into contact with
infected material," she said.
<font color=red>get involved with land issues or lose the land</font color=red>
