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Yosemite will stay open despite being home a deadly virus that has killed two people. Picture: Robert Holmes Caltour Source: Supplied

THE deadly virus raising fears at California's Yosemite National Park does not spread easily, and, despite two recent deaths, does not warrant closing the park, a spokeswoman said Monday.

So far, at least six cases have been confirmed of the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare but serious illness that kills one in three victims and cannot be treated.

"The hantavirus is contracted by breathing a particle from mice faeces and mice urine,'' and is spread by the deer mouse, a rodent that lives in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, park spokeswoman Kari Cobb explained.

"As long as individuals are staying in an area with good ventilation,'' and keeping watch for signs of mice in the area, "they should be fine,'' she said.

"You cannot contract the hantavirus if you're just walking around the park,'' she emphasized, adding that visitors need not wear a mask to avoid contagion.

Cobbs said that while some cancelled their reservations for the long holiday weekend ending with Labor Day on Monday, the gaps had been filled and overall the park was about as busy as usual.

She did not give specific figures, but during an average weekend, Yosemite hosts around 7500 tourists.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that about 10,000 visitors could have been exposed to the deadly virus while staying at the park's scenic Signature Tent Cabins.

But park officials estimated just 3000 people stayed in the lodgings between June 10 and August 24, when they could have run the risk of developing the disease within the next six weeks.

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Yosemite open despite killer virus