A 38-year-old man found living in a basement becomes ill with fever and myalgias after exposure to mice. Which infection is most likely?

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Recognizing a rodent-borne viral infection from exposure to mice is key here. A basement setting with mice exposure points to hantavirus, which humans typically contract by inhaling aerosolized dust from rodent urine, droppings, or nesting material. The fever and myalgias that follow are classic early signs of hantavirus infection, which can progress to more severe illness such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. The other options don’t fit this scenario: H5N1 is linked to birds and respiratory illness from avian exposure, Zika is mosquito- or sexual-transmission with a different clinical picture, and tuberculosis is a chronic lung infection not specifically tied to rodent exposure. Therefore, hantavirus is the best match.