[pianotech] mouse contamination from the dark side

[Mark Purney]

Douglas,

I'm glad you have the background to help us separate fact from 
misconceptions. It's okay to for us to be a little paranoid or err on 
the side of being extra cautious, but not okay for us to spread 
misinformation or to exaggerate the facts to spread fear that isn't 
based on reality.

So obviously, the threat of disease isn't quite what some of us have 
made it out to be, and the threat is virtually non-existent beyond a few 
days. Although that's comforting news, I don't know if I'd be any less 
careful in the presence of such a piano.  If I open a piano and it 
smells of urine and has evidence of nesting mice, how am I going to know 
if the infestation took place many years ago, or if it's currently 
happening?  Unless I'm 100% certain, I'm not going to take any chances 
or be any less careful.

I feel the same way about green powder. I've been told it's highly toxic 
and dangerous, so I won't work on a piano that has it. Maybe I'm 
overreacting out of ignorance, but I'd rather be a healthy idiot than an 
informed hospital patient. :)




On 7/29/2012 12:04 PM, Douglas Gregg wrote:
>   Euphonious,
> There is no anger on my part. I am just bothered by regularly seeing
> scarey posts on hantavirus with a great deal of paranoia about mouse
> dirt. I know we live in a media world that likes to make a lot out of
> viruses, but they just are not that tough. I worked for 30 years with
> some of the worst viruses in the world, and we did it every day
> without that much concern, except when we were growing large
> quantities in cells. We also often did tests on new viruses to
> determine survivability of the virus on inanimate objects.  For the
> most part,  enveloped viruses such as hantavirus are very labile and
> quickly die outside of a living cell. No viruses are free living
> animals. They only contain some nucleic acid and a few proteins and
> must reproduce inside of a living cell. They can only survive briefly
> outside of a cell. This is particularly true of the ones that are
> surrounded by an envelope. The envelope is a very thin membrane
> similar to the cell membrane. It is very sensitive to all kinds of
> disinfectants, drying, sunlight, and heat. Just give them a few days
> and they are dead. We spent a lot more effort trying to keep viruses
> alive in the lab than trying to kill them.
>
> Mouse urine smell is tenacious but viruses are not. Almost any
> detergent will kill the hantavirus if they are even still there when
> you start your work, which is unlikely..
>
> Respectfully submitted,
> Douglas Gregg
> Classic Piano Doc
> Retired veterinary pathologist
> (specialist in virus pathogenesis at Plum Island Animal Disease Center)
> Plum Island is the equivalent of the CDC for animal diseases
>