Michigan health officials have announced the state’s first confirmed case of a human infection by the rodent-borne hantavirus, which causes a potentially deadly pulmonary illness with symptoms similar to COVID-19. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) confirmed in a release that an adult female in Washtenaw County was recently hospitalized with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which is caused by the Sin Nombre hantavirus. Officials believe the woman, who was not identified in the release, became exposed to the virus when cleaning a residence that appeared to be infested by rodents. HPS, which is rare but deadly, has a fatality rate of around 40 percent. No cases of human-to-human transmission of hantavirus have been reported, with humans at risk of infection when dried materials contaminated by rodent excreta become disturbed and then either get inhaled, enter breaks in the skin, or are ingested through tainted food and water. …