The South Dakota Department of Health is urging South Dakotans to take precautions against Hantavirus.

The disease, which can result in Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome that fills the lungs with fluid and can cause respiratory failure, is generally carried by rodents.

"The deer mouse is found throughout South Dakota and is active throughout the year, so the risk for the virus is statewide and year round," state epidemiologist for the Department of Health Dr. Long Kightlinger said in a news release.

More than 465 cases have been reported nationwide since 1993 when the virus was first detected in the southwestern United States. South Dakota has reported 13 cases, including four deaths.

The best way to avoid the disease is to practice routine rodent control in and around your home, according to Kightlinger.

People generally contract the disease by breathing in aerosolized virus from rodent droppings, urine or saliva of mice. Symptoms, which generally appear two to four weeks after exposure, include fatigue, fever, muscle aches, cough, vomiting and diarrhea. Those who have been around rodents and begin experiencing fever, muscle aches and shortness of breath should seek immediate medical care.

According to the Department of Health, a number of steps can be taken to prevent Hantavirus infection, including sealing gas around roofs, basements, and other areas that rodents might be able to enter your home or building; setting traps for rodents; wearing rubber or plastic gloves when handling dead rodents and rodent droppings; spraying dead mice, urine or droppings with disinfectant and reducing rodent food sources and nesting sites by keeping your home and yard free of junk and rubbish.

For more information about Hantavirus, go to http://doh.sd.gov/hantavirus or www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/.