Families: Hantavirus strikes 2 Farmington-area residents

Family members say two residents of the Farmington area of northwestern New Mexico are hospitalized and on life-support machines after being stricken by hantavirus, a rare and potentially fatal virus carried by rodents.

The Daily Times reports that 9-year-old Fernando Hernandez of Bloomfield is at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado, and that 27-year-old Kiley Lane of Aztec is at the University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque.

Family members say both were diagnosed in February and that both are on machines that pump and oxygenate blood.

Hantavirus is often present in rodent droppings, urine and saliva. Humans can contract the virus when dust is stirred up.

Symptoms include fever, severe muscle aches and fatigue. Other symptoms include difficulty breathing, headaches, chills, and nausea.