Health officials: Tahoe-area resident died from hantavirus
California health officials say a Tahoe-area resident died after contracting an infection carried by rodents.
Placer County health officials said in a statement that they believe that rodents at the home where the resident lived and worked were the likely source of hantavirus.
Rodents can carry hantavirus and spread it via their urine, droppings and saliva.
Placer County Health Officer Rob Oldham says hantavirus infections are rare and can be prevented.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported Thursday that the public is not at risk from the source tied to the resident’s death.
Placer County includes Lake Tahoe’s northwest shore from about Homewood to the Nevada border near Crystal Bay.
