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Hanta in the Yosemite

The title would make all sense if it were 'Hanta in the Serengeti' but Yosemite definitely has a lot more chill effect going for it. I am refering to the recent deaths of a couple of park visitors to the Yosemite National Park in east California. This is one of my most beloved park for a variety of reasons not the least of which is its drivable in under 4 hours and offers dramatic vistas that take your breath away. The deaths in question (actually in the park) were a result of a fatal (to the US) infection from the rare HANTAVIRUS carried by rodents. They must have transmitted this deadly virus to these visitors as they slept in the tents that they rented. Details were sketchy. What the headline proclaimed was around 1700 visitors are likely affected. I remember hearing of this particular germ when we lived in Hawaii many moons ago. We were friends with an epidemiologist at the Univ of Hawaii whose specialty was life threatening viruses like HIV and Hanta. These are all native to the wilds of Africa but apparently have made their way into developed civilizations with Hanta almost unheard of. It is tragic and scary but I suppose its only the flip side of the flat earth phenomenon that made travel easy. Now all manners of creatures can jump continents in the blink of time. I found the following note in the article most disturbing .. "We worked with Yosemite to evaluate risk and make recommendations to reduce the possibility of transmission to people," said Vicki Kramer, chief of the vector borne disease section of the health department. That included reducing the number of mice, and excluding them from structures. The language used with reference to these nasty rats is so soft it makes me dizzy. REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY? What would have made sense is - We have decided to attack the mice populations furiously and destroy them from the vicinity of the tents in a radius of 10 miles or something to that effect. Or at least setup traps that would avoid their coming in contact with people. Granted that people are the ones entering the wilderness, but since its a public convenience the least the park service can do is provide an accomodation that does not threaten to end your life - guaranteed. I wonder what happens when a predator consumes these infected mice and if that then terminates other forms of life?
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