Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome | featured news

Nearly 20 years after hantavirus was first identified in the U.S., doctors are under pressure to quickly learn more about the pervasive and deadly disease. In his 30-plus years as a doctor, Bruce Tempest had never seen anything like it.

Yosemite National Park officials this week vowed they have strived for transparency in dealing with a hantavirus outbreak at the park, which has sickened four people and killed two others. But, reporting by The Union Democrat has found, the process has been far more opaque.

A popular lodging area in Yosemite National Park could be linked to a rare rodent-borne disease that has killed a California tourist who stayed there this summer, officials said. A man who stayed at Curry Village in June died after contracting hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. A woman who also stayed in a canvas tent cabin about 100 feet from him on overlapping days has become seriously ill, park officials said.