Hantavirus claims life of Ellensburg police officer

A healthy, 34-year-old police sergeant died Friday of what medical investigators believe was hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare but deadly disease contracted from stirred-up mouse urine and droppings.

Sgt. Nelson Ng was first taken to Kittitas Valley Hospital before being transferred to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where he died Friday afternoon.

In its deadliest form, hantavirus can suffocate a victim by filling the lungs with fluid within 48 hours or less.

“What’s so tragic about  hantavirus is how fast it can happen,” said Marianne Patnode, communicable disease services coordinator for the Yakima Health District.

Details on the circumstances surrounding Ng’s death weren’t being made available Monday.

“What we know of this case makes it clinically compatible with hantavirus and a very sad one indeed,” said Donn Moyer, spokesman for the state Department of Health, which is assisting the lead investigative agency, the Kittitas County Public Health Department.

According to the Yakima County Coroner’s office, the cause of death was hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

The state Health Department will conduct confirmation tests in the next few weeks at its Public Health Laboratories in Shoreline. The state has not yet received samples.

In the state of Washington, there have been 34 cases of hantavirus since it first appeared in 1993 on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico.

Across the United States, 465 cases of hantavirus were reported as of March 2007, 35 percent of them fatal. Washington has the fifth-highest number of reported cases.

Eleven of the Washington state cases were fatal. There have been no reported cases this year.

Ng joined the Ellensburg Police Department in 1997 after graduating from Central Washington University. He served as a recruiter, crisis negotiator, Taser instructor, field training officer, translator and firearms instructor. He was promoted to sergeant this June.

Ng is survived by his wife, Anna, and their 7-year-old daughter, Elise. Anna Ng is the principal of Ellensburg Christian School.

“Sgt. Ng was a very outgoing and dynamic person who was passionate about his family, the Ellensburg Police Department and the Ellensburg community that he served,” police wrote in a news release.

A fund for Ng's family, “The Nelson K. Ng Memorial Fund” has been set up at Yakima Federal Savings and Loan at Fifth and Pine streets in Ellensburg.

Early symptoms of hantavirus, which may appear 1 to 6 weeks after contact, include fever, headaches, muscle aches, stomach problems, dizziness and chills. Later symptoms are fluid in the lungs and shortness of breath.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control say the virus isn’t transmitted by human-to-human contact. The main form of transmission is inhalation of fresh droppings and urine that has been stirred up, causing droplets with the virus to become airborne.

    The CDC also says that:

    • In rare instances, someone bitten by a rodent with the virus may contract the disease.

    • People may become infected if they touch something that has been contaminated with rodent urine, droppings or saliva, and then touch their nose or mouth.

    • People can become sick if they eat food contaminated by urine, droppings or saliva from an infected rodent.

Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com

Hantavirus Precautions

• If you come across mouse droppings and urine in an area that has been confined, open the doors and windows and wait at least 30 minutes.
• Don’t sweep with a broom or vacuum cleaner because that can spread the virus into the air.
• Using rubber gloves and a face mask, spray the droppings with a household disinfectant or a solution of bleach and water. Wait 5 minutes. Mop up with paper towels, a sponge or mop.
• Disinfect the rest of the area and wash anything with droppings.
• Before removing gloves, wash hands with a disinfectant. After removing gloves, wash again with soap and water. It’s not necessary to throw the gloves away, but it’s advisable.

Source: Centers for Disease Control

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