Yes. Nearly 40% of people who have contracted hantavirus have died. Wherever rodent droppings are found, care should be taken to prevent your exposure to hantavirus (Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome or HPS). In mid-1993, the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) was first implicated as a potential reservoir species of the hantavirus responsible for adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that led to several deaths in the Four Corners area of the United States. Subsequent isolations of the virus believed responsible for this illness have been made from several Western states. In addition to the deer mouse, other carriers of the virus include the white-footed mouse, the rice rat, and the hispid cotton rat. Infected rodents shed the virus through urine, droppings, and saliva. HPS is transmitted to humans through a process called aerosolization. This occurs when dried materials contaminated by rodent excreta or saliva are disturbed. Humans become infected by breathing in these infectious aerosols. HPS in the United States cannot be transmitted from one person to another. HPS in the United States is not known to be transmitted by farm animals, dogs, or cats or from rodents purchased from pet stores.

Learn how to protect yourself before cleaning up the feces by visiting Hantavirus and looking up Hantavirus. The Centers for Disease Control have steps you can follow.

Resources: (online)
Deer Mice
Wildlife Disease Information