‘A canteen worker employed by caterer Eurest has been diagnosed with the rare hantavirus. The virus is spread by rats and mice and there are many mice, relatively speaking, in these canteens.’ This was reported by Cursor yesterday. Monique Kuyck is keen to add nuance to that last statement. “I don't deny there are mice in our buildings, but at the present time, however, the problem is actually minor. In the past we have certainly had mice infestations.” Back in 2016 Cursor wrote an article about an imminent mice infestation.

According to Kuyck, efforts to repel the mice are constant. “We totally blitzed Gemini in the spring, so there are actually fewer mice there now. The tricky thing is that they keep popping up in other places. Whenever renovation work is underway, they go to buildings where it is quieter.”

To keep down the number of mice, premises are kept as clean as possible and humane mouse traps are set out, reports the head of Operational Services. “But it's very difficult to be entirely free of mice. The cleaners are effective, but there's little you can do if pizza boxes are left lying around. It is also a mindset among employees and students that has to change; leave as little food or leftovers lying on your desk or work station.”

It would appear that the female employee who contracted the hantavirus and who - quite exceptionally - has a more virulent strain of it, is recovering, Kuyck tells us. Where exactly the employee became infected with the virus is not clear, Kuyck states. “The GGD has at any rate said that the likelihood of the campus being the source of infection is minimal.”