The officials announced on Friday that Betsy Arakawa, the wife of Gene Hackman, died of Hantavirus – ending speculations on the circumstances surrounding his death while arousing new questions about the disease to the distribution of rodents.
Arakawa has died of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease that attacks respiratory and cardiovascular systems, said Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief forensic scientist at the New Mexico medical investigator’s office during a press conference.
The condition is rare but fatal-with a mortality rate varying between 38% and 50% among those infected in the American southwest, she said.
Hantavirus are a family of viruses propagated by rodent excrement, saliva and urine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most Hantavirus found in the United States can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
People can contract syndrome by breathing in the air during cleaning after rodents. It can also be distributed by touching contaminated objects, then touching your nose or mouth, biting or scratching by an infected rodent or eating foods contaminated by Hantavirus, according to the CDC.
Erin Phipps, veterinarian of public health in the state of the New Mexico state, noted that the home of Arakawa and Hackman had a “low risk” of exposure to the Hantavirus, but said that there were signs of rodents in other structures on the property. She has said that in the past five years, the New Mexico has confirmed one to seven cases of Hantavirus each year.
Deer mouse is the most common vector of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States, according to the CDC.
People usually start to feel symptoms one to eight weeks after exposure. The first symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle pain, and can progress towards vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath and waterproofing in the chest while the lungs begin to fill with liquid, according to the CDC.
Although there is no specific treatment for the virus, patients can be supported by rest, hydration and other treatments to manage their symptoms, according to the CDC. In more serious cases, intubation may be necessary to help breathing.
The risk of exposure can be minimized by sealing all the areas of the house where rodents can enter and use traps to eliminate infestations, according to the CDC.
Arakawa, 65, did shopping on February 11, but has no trace of activities afterwards, which led health officials to believe that it was his death. Hackman, 95, has died of heart disease, probably days later, while his cardiac stimulator showed an activity for the last time on February 18, officials said.
The couple’s bodies were discovered in their house in Santa Fe, NM, on February 26. One of their three dogs was also found dead.
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