SIMI TO HOST HEALTH MEETING ON HANTAVIRUS.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

A Ventura County health official is coming to Simi Valley to talk to residents about protecting themselves from the deadly hantavirus.

Invited by the city, environmental health specialist Randy Smith will attend the 7:30 p.m. July 18 Neighborhood Council meeting at City Hall, 2929 Tapo Canyon Road, to make a presentation and answer questions from residents.

``We'll talk about the hantavirus, what it is, the theories behind where it came from, and then go into how to protect yourself in areas where you may have problems,'' Smith said. ``If people have questions or if they have concerns, it's a good opportunity to get those concerns addressed and questions answered.''

Mark Oyler, Simi Valley's neighborhood council coordinator, said the city had asked for a Ventura County Environmental Health representative to attend the Neighborhood Council No. 1 meeting after deer mice carrying the potentially deadly virus were discovered in Wood Ranch.

``We're trying to help inform the public so that they become more informed about who's at risk, what the symptoms are, and how they can protect themselves from the hantavirus,'' he said. ``The discussion will center around what measures that people can take to reduce the hantavirus exposure.''

The respiratory illness, called hantaviral pulmonary syndrome, is believed to be carried in airborne particles of dried feces or urine from rodents. Humans can also contract the disease from direct contact with the blood or saliva of mice, health officials said.

Ventura County health officials in June discovered deer mice carrying the potentially fatal disease near Wood Ranch in western Simi Valley, and in Wheeler Gorge Campground, Mount Pinos and Chuchupate Ranger Station in the Los Padres National Forest in northern Ventura County.

Although no cases have been found in Ventura County, hantavirus killed dozens of people in the Southwest in 1993 following an outbreak that initially puzzled scientists, and is responsible for the death of eight people in California since 1994.

Flu-like symptoms develop about two weeks after exposure, but the disease progresses rapidly to breathing difficulties and shock as the lungs fill with fluid. Hantavirus is fatal about 60 percent of the time.

Smith said it is important for residents to know how to protect their families from contracting the disease, a topic he intends to address at the July 18 meeting.

``The risk of transmission of the disease is low. If you take precautions that are outlined, then the risk becomes even lower,'' he said. ``It's something that people should be aware of.''

Strains of hantavirus have existed in the United States for decades, but there had never been a large outbreak like the one that swept through the Four Corners area of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah in May 1993. Since then, only isolated cases have been reported across the country.

Although there have been no previous reports of hantavirus in Ventura County, the virus has been detected in wild rodent populations in neighboring Santa Barbara and Kern counties, and on the Channel Islands.

The primary carrier of hantavirus is thought to be the deer mouse, which is commonly found in forests, brush, grassland and chaparral areas across the state.

For more information about hantavirus, call [phone].