Reader comments
Utah study finds some deer mice are hantavirus 'super spreaders'

Anonymous | 7:35 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

mice are cute,but deadly

Anonymous | 8:49 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

Even cuter and deadlier now that they come in skittles colors.

Mouse abuse | 9:19 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

Why is that mouse pink? He is a very frightened little mouse. How would you like to be dipped and coated in pink to show how you could spread deadly humanly diseases around. ummm?

Comments continue below

Well... | 10:25 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

I'll give it a go mouse abuse. It actually sounds somewhat entertaining. Especially if I get paid, or put in a ZipLoc bag.

Mouse abuse? | 10:46 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

What idiot is worried about a mouse being abused? These things carry deadly diseases that can harm humans. I'd rather see a mouse suffer than any human. Go get a life mouse lover.

Lee Siegel | 11:22 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

For the record, the mice are not harmed by the fluorescent powders.

Lee Siegel
University of Utah

Sammy | 11:44 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

I like this mouse story much better than the KILLER pitbull dog story this past week.

MJB | 11:50 a.m. Jan. 7, 2009

It's funny how some people sound so innocently worried while others don't pick up on a joke

Sad | 12:16 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

I know someone whom contracted Hautavirus and died. He went to Sunday dinner with some relatives, and said "If I would have know I was going to feel this rotten I woudn't have went to work yesterday, but I don't feel that bad" 4 hours later he was dead.

I hope that they can figure out how to stop it. It's scary.

aaaaaah............... | 1:03 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

Look at those innocent, little, beady eyes looking up at you. Now doesn't that just steal your heart right away?

Willard | 1:11 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

Yum! My pet snake eats mice for breakfast. I keep a storage of frozen mice in my freezer for my pet sidewinder, GORGER.

Harmless? | 3:18 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

Mr. Siegel, how do you know the powder doesn't cause cancer? ;-)

Arthur | 3:41 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

I think 'Mouse abuse | 9:19 a.m.' was just scratching the surface. The real issue here is whether the mouse Chose to be Pink or was Made that way. ;)

Frank | 3:51 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

Well now you know if you see streaks of florescent around a spot its either a breeding ground for the hauntavirus or crazy clowns. Both bad situations.

Wondering | 4:25 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

I was wondering what in the world was being commented on with this story. And now all I have to say is...
uuuuhhhhhhhhh.....

wookface | 5:12 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

Haha, I love it! I totally geek out at stuff like this. Research and biology at its best! Keep up the good work over at the U!

mouse abuse??? | 5:54 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

I've heard it all now. In case you didn't notice, it was already infected with a nasty disease. And after living on farm land with those blasted creatures coming into our house everytime the temp dips or the fields are plowed, I'd like to kill every freaking mouse on the planet. They are disgusting, disease carrying, havoc reeking, did I say disgusting?, insanely fast reproducing annoyances that will never go away. I couldn't care less if they are "scared" by powder. Any by the way, mice always look scared. They should. Because they are at the bottom of the life chain, next to misquitos.

Paul B | 8:46 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

If I would've know I could spend my days getting paid to color live mice like easter eggs, I would've majored in wildlife biology.

Cat Licks | 9:03 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

You had better be checking your furry cats eyes from now on for florescent pink eye.

RE: Paul B | 9:47 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009

I helped work on this project for a couple of weeks one summer, and believe me, it's not easy. Also, graduate students don't get paid much for the amount of work they have to do. I really admire Christy Clay and all of the other people who worked, and are still working, on this project.

superfly | 9:58 p.m. Jan. 9, 2009

ok for the record, the powder is zinc oxide, it is totally non-toxic. If you want to get frisky you can take the same stuff they use for the mice and cover yourself in it (I speak from personal experience) - it makes great body paint and works as sunblock as well. It comes in 9 colors - fun for the whole family! Zinc oxide is exactly the same stuff in those neon bright sunblocks people used to wear in the 80's. I once spent a whole day painted green running around the desert at the Burning Man Festival. Think of it as giving the mouse a cheery little costume to wear. ;)

superfly | 10:07 p.m. Jan. 9, 2009

and by the way I've read the DSM sheets (look it up). It doesn't cause cancer, it's totally inert. Y'all should be more concerned about the way they generate toxicity data for every chemical on the planet - toxicity ratings are based, in part, on the amount you have to feed lab rats before half of them die (ND50). For the zinc oxide it is so non-toxic that it's like half the poor rat's body weight. I suspect the wild mice would rather be painted bright pink than fed half their weight in the stuff.

Dang | 11:30 a.m. Jan. 10, 2009

Great, now I have a pink butt.

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