Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Recorded on May 11, 2026 with Dartmouth Health Chief Clinical Officer Edward J. Merrens, MD, MHCDS.
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New Hampshire and Vermont Risk of Hantavirus Is Extremely Low:
The risk of Hantavirus to the general public is extremely low, including in our region. Hantavirus is a rare, viral illness most commonly spread when people breathe in airborne virus particles released from disturbed wild rodent urine, droppings, saliva, or nesting materials.
The Andes strain of hantavirus can be transmitted from person to person through bodily fluids and close, prolonged contact with a person who is sick with the disease. Infected people cannot transmit disease until they develop symptoms.
Symptoms can appear anywhere from 4 to 42 days after exposure and often begin with flu-like symptoms. Although hantavirus can cause serious illness, it is important to know that infections are rare and the overall risk to the public is low. Early medical attention can improve outcomes significantly.
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Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care.
Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.
Recorded on May 11, 2026 with Dartmouth Health Chief Clinical Officer Edward J. Merrens, MD, MHCDS.
--
New Hampshire and Vermont Risk of Hantavirus Is Extremely Low:
The risk of Hantavirus to the general public is extremely low, including in our region. Hantavirus is a rare, viral illness most commonly spread when people breathe in airborne virus particles released from disturbed wild rodent urine, droppings, saliva, or nesting materials.
The Andes strain of hantavirus can be transmitted from person to person through bodily fluids and close, prolonged contact with a person who is sick with the disease. Infected people cannot transmit disease until they develop symptoms.
Symptoms can appear anywhere from 4 to 42 days after exposure and often begin with flu-like symptoms. Although hantavirus can cause serious illness, it is important to know that infections are rare and the overall risk to the public is low. Early medical attention can improve outcomes significantly.
--
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care.
Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.
