Denis Dou

About Denis

A few years ago, I found mouse droppings in my garage — along the baseboards, in the corners, scattered under a storage shelf I hadn't moved in months. I did what most people do: I grabbed a paper towel and started cleaning up.

I didn't know that sweeping or wiping dry droppings is exactly what you're not supposed to do when hantavirus is a concern. The virus spreads through airborne particles — disturbing dry droppings without a respirator is how exposure actually happens. I learned this about twenty minutes too late, already halfway through cleaning up.

What followed was two days of searching for clear, practical guidance and finding almost none. The CDC's official pages are thorough but written for clinicians. The pest control blogs were either vague or pushing products. Reddit threads were full of conflicting advice from people who were just as uncertain as I was.

That gap is why I built RodentHealthRisk.com. Not because I'm a medical professional — I'm not — but because I spent the time reading the actual primary sources (CDC guidelines, MMWR case reports, WHO fact sheets) and translating them into the kind of information someone standing in their garage at 8am actually needs.

Research Approach

Every article on this site starts with primary sources: CDC clinical guidance, MMWR investigation reports documenting confirmed HPS cases, WHO disease data, and peer-reviewed public health literature. I read the underlying documents, not summaries of summaries.

For state-specific articles, I cross-reference CDC national surveillance data with state health department reports. For cleanup and exposure guidance, I trace recommendations back to the MMWR case reports that document how actual infections happened — which exposure scenarios, which mistakes, which protective measures made a difference.

I'm transparent about the limits of this site. It does not provide medical advice. It cannot assess your specific exposure. If you believe you've been exposed to hantavirus, contact a physician — HPS progresses quickly and this site is not a substitute for clinical care.

Articles by Denis Dou

All content on RodentHealthRisk.com is researched and written by Denis Dou, reviewed against CDC guidelines and primary public health sources before publication. See the Editorial Policy for full review standards.

• How I Accidentally Exposed Myself to Hantavirus Risk — and What I Learned · Medium