Had hantavirus and bubonic plague on the worksite (Nevada high desert), probably a few other goodies I didn’t hear about. Vermin control was a serious business.
We were supposed to call the mouse patrol guy if we found droppings or a nest, but if we were seriously pressed for time we were also trained on how to clean it up ourselves.
And leave the rattler/sidewinder/hog nose snake alone. They are excellent vermin control.
Out east here, we had a sportsman’s dinner every year, and one year 2 researchers came out and gave a talk about their,jobs in the field. They both said that part of their job was to trap mice and check for diseases, viruses etc, and they stated emphatically that they never do so without full hazmat suit protection because of plague and hanta virus- even though it is extremely rare in the east, it still happens.
A hiker stopped at a lean to in order to sleep the night- it was a double walled lean-to and mice had gotten in between the walls and nested. Fella got back home from hike, and keeled over- hanta virus-mgot freaked out by their talk as mice are really common in the country, and we are always having to trap them with the snap traps- and you know that they defecate and pee when hit by the trap.
In ny someone in the city got,an infestation of mice, and cleaned up the droppings, and got the virus. I think he might survived, can’t remeber now- that was in the city.