MOUNT VERNON, WA - Skagit County Public Health has reported that a resident of that county contracted hantavirus, a deadly respiratory virus spread by deer mice droppings. Two other state residents have died from hantavirus this year - including an Issaquah man - and a fourth person survived the infection. The Skagit County resident has since recovered from the infection.

There have been three hantavirus cases in King County since December. A Redmond woman contracted the virus in December - after she came into contact with deer mice living in her car - but survived. In April, an Issaquah woman in her 50s contracted the virus, but also survived. An Issaquah man in his 30s, who lived in the vicinity of Squak Mountain, died from the virus in February. In May, Shannon Jorgenson Davis, 25, a mother of three, died from hantavirus. Davis lived in the Tri-Cities area in Eastern Washington.

Humans develop hantavirus pulmonary syndrome after coming into contact with infected deer mice droppings or urine. Deer mice live in rural or woodland areas, and often make nests in old barns or other structures, including cars and RVs. Human often come into contact with droppings while cleaning. Heath officials have advised Washington residents that the risk of contracting hantavirus might be higher this year. Hantavirus is considered "novel" by health officials, and was first identified in the early 1990s. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, Washington is one of the top states in the U.S. for hantavirus cases. Washington has had 46 cases since the virus was first identified, behind only New Mexico (100), Colorado (94), Arizona (74), and California (62).