Hi Aniek,
That is actually a great idea! At the moment I am not aware that such a “rapid test for hantavirus” exists. I do know that in 1997 a prototype test for Sin Nombre hantavirus was developed to test human blood for hantavirus in a similar way, however they still required a lab setting. Nowadays, we do have the tools to test more than just Sin Nombre hantavirus, but also other relevant hantaviruses like Puumala, Hantaan, Andes and Seoul virus. So I believe that your idea could be a very practical solution. However, there are some questions you need to think about: if a rodent is infected with hantavirus, does that mean its feces or urine contains the virus 100% of the time? If not, that would make the test a little bit less reliable. What is your next step if a rodent turns out to carry hantavirus? Why only test rodents, why not extent the test to humans that are believed to be infected by hantavirus?
Great idea and good luck!
Danny
