Thank you, I love intelligent information. Besides hantavirus, I would imagine there are viral, bacterial and other nasty things that live on even in older leavings? David Stocker, RPT Tumwater, WA From: William Monroe Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 10:28 To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Hanta virus in WA state David, While it is an important consideration, one thing to note that, thankfully, was included in the article is this: "The virus is spread when fresh urine, droppings or nesting materials are stirred up, such as by sweeping, according to the federal health agency. That allows the virus to get into the air and for it to be inhaled. Instead of vaccuuming or sweeping around where mice have been, health officials recommend cleaning up with water and bleach." Having worked in a former life as a field biologist, working closely with the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopa) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), it was important for me to pay attention to these things. Both are carriers of Hantavirus, as well as the cotton rats and rice rats in the Southeast. However, as a piano technician, most of what we deal with is far from fresh, and the virus is only capable of living outside it's host for 2-3 days at 70 degrees Farenheit. This from the CDC, "The length of time hantaviruses can remain infectious in the environment is variable and depends on environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, whether the virus is indoors or outdoors or exposed to the sun, and even on the rodent’s diet (which would affect the chemistry of its urine). Viability for 2 or 3 days has been shown at normal room temperature. Exposure to sunlight will decrease the time of viability, and freezing temperatures will actually increase the time that the virus remains viable. Since the survival of infectious virus is measured in terms of hours or days, only active infestations of infected rodents result in conditions that are likely to lead to human hantavirus infection. " So, I think we need to act with care and caution when we discover rodent "stuff," as we probably don't know the last time a rodent was there with certainty, but it's not as big a threat as some would have us believe. If in doubt, isolate the piano and make sure rodents aren't getting in for a week, then come back and clean. William R. Monroe On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 10:59 PM, David Stocker <firtreepiano at hotmail.com> wrote: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100814/NEWS01/708149878&news01ad=1#With.small.warning.hantavirus.overtook.Everett.man Important to note cleaning procedures towards the end of the article. Have to think twice before blowing out that action if mice were involved. David Stocker, RPT Tumwater, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100815/0998a5b4/attachment.htm>
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