Long-Term Rodent Surveillance after Outbreak of Hantavirus Infection, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, 2012

A six-year rodent surveillance study in Yosemite National Park, California, found that deer mouse populations and hantavirus seroprevalence remained lower following a 2012 outbreak, though the latter difference was not statistically significant. The research, conducted by the California Department of Public Health, involved 17 trapping events across developed areas of Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows to monitor deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) abundance and Sin Nombre orthohantavirus seroprevalence. The decline in rodent populations is likely attributed to intensified rodent exclusion efforts and reduced peridomestic habitat, suggesting that human interventions may influence both rodent dynamics and disease risk in high-traffic areas of national parks.

Danforth, M. E., Messenger, S., Buttke, D., Weinburke, M., Carroll, G., Hacker, G., Niemela, M., Andrews, E. S., Jackson, B. T., Kramer, V., & Novak, M. (2020). Long-Term Rodent Surveillance after Outbreak of Hantavirus Infection, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, 2012. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26(3), 560–567. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2603.191307