Health officials in South Dakota are reporting hantavirus has been detected on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Tribal officials are urging residents to take precautions to protect from the virus as the changing seasons drive more rodents inside.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe Emergency Management issued the public health alert after receiving notification from Pine Ridge Indian Health Service that hantavirus had been detected on the reservation.
Officials said that the strains of hantavirus are not spread from person to person but comes from contact with the infected rodents or material contaminated by rodent urine, droppings, saliva or nesting materials.
Contaminated material can spread when disturbed sending particles into the air that can be inhaled.
