Spring Valley Pest Control and Disease Carrying Rodents
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) is a viral infection of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord and of the cerebrospinal fluid. It is an infectious disease carried by rodents, including common house mice and rats.
The virus has also been known to transmit via pets such as hamsters and chinchillas but this is far less common.
Your Spring Valley Pest Controller Exterminates Mice and Removes Droppings
LCM is caused by an arenavirus, which is an RNA virus and is a mild cousin in the family containing the much more threatening arenaviruses that cause hemorrhagic fever. Humans acquire the LCM virus (LCMV) from infected rodents by coming in contact with the animals or their excretions. Most cases of LCM occur in fall and winter, when mice seek warmth inside dwellings. Food and dust can become contaminated by the excretions of rodents infected with LCM virus. Pest control experts in Spring Valley are experienced in the safe removal of the infected rodents and their droppings.
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The primary host of LCMV is the common house mouse. Infection in house mice populations may vary by geographic location, though it is estimated that 5% of house mice throughout the United States carry LCMV and are able to transmit virus for the duration of their lives without showing any sign of illness. Other types of rodents, such as hamsters, are not the natural reservoirs but can become infected with LCMV from wild mice at the breeder, in the pet store, or home environment. Humans are more likely to contract LCMV from house mice, but infections from pet rodents have also been reported.
You will get good advice regarding potential sources of infestation from your pest control expert in Spring Valley.
LCMV infections have been reported in Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Japan, and may occur wherever infected rodent hosts of the virus are found. The disease has historically been underreported, often making it difficult to determine incidence rates or estimates of prevalence by geographic region.
LCMV Can Cause Neurological Disease
Spring Valley pest control experts will eliminate the carriers of this neurological disease.
LCMV is most commonly recognized as causing neurological disease, though infection without symptoms or mild febrile illnesses are more common clinical manifestations.
Additionally, pregnancy-related infection has been associated with congenital hydrocephalus, chorioretinitis, and mental retardation.
For infected persons who do become ill, onset of symptoms usually occurs 8-13 days after exposure to the virus as part of a biphasic febrile illness. This initial phase, which may last as long as a week, typically begins with fever, a general feeling of being unwell, lack of appetite, muscle aches, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Other symptoms appearing less frequently include sore throat, cough, joint pain, chest pain, testicular pain, and salivary gland pain.
See also Health Hazards Posed by Rodents.
Use Spring Valley Pest Control to Eliminate This Danger
Following a few days of recovery, a second phase of illness may occur. Symptoms may consist of meningitis (fever, headache, stiff neck, etc.), encephalitis (drowsiness, confusion, sensory disturbances, and/or motor abnormalities, such as paralysis), or meningoencephalitis (inflammation of both the brain and meninges). LCMV has also been known to cause acute hydrocephalus (increased fluid on the brain), which often requires surgical shunting to relieve increased intracranial pressure. In rare instances, infection results in myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord) and presents with symptoms such as muscle weakness, paralysis, or changes in body sensation. An association between LCMV infection and myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscles) has been suggested.
Previous observations show that most patients who develop aseptic meningitis or encephalitis due to LCMV survive. No chronic infection has been described in humans, and after the acute phase of illness, the virus is cleared from the body. However, as in all infections of the central nervous system, particularly encephalitis, temporary or permanent neurological damage is possible. Nerve deafness and arthritis have been reported.
Pregnancy and Spring Valley Pest Control
Women who become infected with LCMV during pregnancy may pass the infection on to the fetus. Infections occurring during the first trimester may result in fetal death and pregnancy termination, while in the second and third trimesters, birth defects can develop. Infants infected In utero can have many serious and permanent birth defects, including vision problems, mental retardation, and hydrocephaly (water on the brain). Pregnant women may recall a flu-like illness during pregnancy, or may not recall any illness.
The danger of infection during pregnancy are such that if you suspect that you have a rodent infestation, you should consider engaging a Spring Valley pest control expert immediately.
Many cases are probably not reported or even identified because the symptoms range from extremely mild to those resembling severe flu. A few patients develop symptoms of meningitis. In some rare cases, the LCM viral infection can spread throughout the central nervous system, and may even be fatal, although this is rarely the case.
Symptoms of LCM
The symptoms of LCM occur in two phases. The first stage can produce fever, chills, muscle aches, cough and vomiting. In the second phase, characteristic meningitis symptoms of headache, stiff neck, listlessness, nausea and vomiting may occur. In adults, complications are rare and recovery may even occur before the second phase.
The virus is not spread from person to person, except through pregnancy. LCMV is one of the few viruses that can cross the placenta from mother to child during pregnancy and may be an under recognized cause of congenital infection in newborns. In cases that have been recognized among infants, LCM viral infection has a high mortality rate (about one-third of the babies studied died).
LCM Treatment
No antiviral agents exist for LCM virus. Treatment consists of supporting the patient and treating the symptoms until the infection subsides, generally within a few weeks.
As always, prevention trumps cure every time. Your Spring Valley pest control contractor can tell you if you are at risk and eliminate it for you.
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