Island Infestation Can’t Be Eradicated, Expert Says

VENTURA COUNTY —  There is virtually no way to stop an infestation of virus-infected mice at Channel Islands National Park that has prompted a congressman to call for the park to the closed, a top medical expert said Thursday.

“The eradication of mice in a large area is near impossible. It’s impractical and not as easy as it seems. We’ll be stuck with this for many years to come,” said James Mills, chief of the medical ecology unit for special pathogens at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Not much bigger than golf balls, deer mice can easily hide in the many nooks and crannies on the islands, easily thwarting any attempt to eliminate them. Mice are prolific breeders, Mills said, and under the right conditions, even a few can repopulate a large area.

A controversy began when an Oxnard family returned from a visit to Santa Rosa Island last week and reported that their 7-year-old son had been playing with an infected mouse. The boy is presently being monitored for the potentially deadly disease, which can spread to people through bites and excrement-tainted dust.

In response to the incident, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) called this week for an immediate closure of the park until federal land managers devise better methods to notify the public of the risk.

National Park Service officials say that no one is believed to have contracted the disease, become ill or died from contact with hantavirus-infected rodents at the Channel Islands park.