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(June 7, 2021 11:57 AM) The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Washtenaw County Health Department are investigating the first confirmed human case of Sin Nombre hantavirus detected in Michigan. An adult female in Washtenaw County was recently hospitalized with a serious pulmonary illness from Sin Nombre hantavirus. The individual was likely exposed when cleaning an unoccupied dwelling that contained signs of an active rodent infestation. Hantavirus was first discovered to be responsible for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in ill patients in the southwest United States in 1993. HPS has since infected people throughout the U.S. and the Americas. Hantavirus infections are associated with domestic, occupational or recreational activities that bring humans into contact with infected rodents. Most cases have been identified in adults and tend to occur in the spring and summer. “HPS is caused by some strains of hantavirus and is a rare but severe and sometimes fatal respiratory disease that can occur one to five weeks after a person has exposure to fresh urine, droppings or saliva from infected rodents,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS. “Anyone who comes into contact with rodents that carry…