Did You Know?

Deer mice are involved in two diseases that affect humans: Lyme disease and hantavirus. Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete bacterium that is transferred between mammalian hosts (including deer mice, rabbits, white-tailed deer, and humans) by the very small deer tick, Ixodes dammini. A human with Lyme disease often experiences a skin rash, a transient flu-like syndrome, and may develop recurring arthritis. Hantavirus is found in the urine, feces, and saliva of infected rodents including deer mice. Inhalation of dust containing these viruses can lead to very serious viral infections in humans (symptoms of hantaviral infections include headache, fever, and severe respiratory distress). Half of those people infected with hantavirus die from the disease.