by The officials announced on Friday that Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman’s wife, died of Hantavirus-and speculated about the circumstances of her death and at the same time issued new questions about the rodent description.
Arakawa died of the Hantavirus syndrome, an illness that attacks the breathing and heart cycle systems, said Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief searcher of the medical investigator in New Mexico, at a press conference.
The disease is rare, but fatal – with a mortality rate between 38% and 50% infected among those in the American southwest, she said.
Read more: Gene Hackman died of heart diseases, his wife of Hantavirus days before, say officials
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that are distributed according to the US centers for the control and prevention of diseases of rodent droppings, saliva and urine. Most of the Hantaviruses found in the United States can cause the Hantavirus syndrome.
People can inhale the syndrome by inhaling if they tidy up rodents. It can also be spread by touching contaminated objects and then touching your nose or mouth, bitten or scratched by an infected rodent or eaten with Hantavirus contaminated food.
Erin Phipps, veterinarian of the state of New Mexico State Public Health, found that Arakawa and Hackman’s house had a “low risk” of exposure to Hantavirus, but there are signs of rodents in other structures on the property. She said that New Mexico has confirmed one to seven Hantavirus cases annually in the past five years.
A total of 122 cases and 52 deaths were registered in New Mexico between 1993, when surveillance began, and in 2022, the last year, for which the CDC is publicly available. California reported 78 cases and 24 deaths in the same period.
California cases include a Hantavirus outbreak in the Yosemite National Park in summer 2012, the infected visitors who stay in tent huts. Eight Hantavirus syndrome experienced of the 10 infected people, five had to be intensive care with ventilation support and three died.
According to the CDC, the millet is the most common vector of the Hantavirus syndrome in the United States.
Read more: Doctors are still trying to diagnose mysteries from Hantavirus
As a rule, people have up to eight weeks after exposure with flu -like symptoms. Early symptoms are fatigue, fever and muscle pain and can vomit according to the CDC, diarrhea, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest when the lungs fill with liquid.
There is no specific treatment for the virus, but according to CDC, patients can be supported with calm, hydration and other treatments to treat their symptoms. In more severe cases, intubation may be necessary to support breathing.
The risk of exposure can be minimized by sealing the areas of the house in which rodents can enter and use traps according to the CDC to delete infestation.
“It is important to take special steps when tidying up rodents,” said Phipps at the press conference. “Contact with or breathing in aerosolized rodents or feces, especially in a poorly ventilated area, is crucial.”
It recommended that the residents, gloves and a well-fitting N95 mask be used if they are opened by rodents and open windows and doors in advance to improve the air circulation. It also recommended spraying the area with a 10% bleaching solution or a commercial disinfectant. She let it sit for at least five minutes, clean the area with paper towels and throw it into a sealed garbage can that is regularly emptied.
It is also important to thoroughly wash your hands after cleaning and to avoid that mouse droppings turn or vacuumed because this can distribute particles in the air.
Read more: Emotional 911 Call follows the discovery of mummified body of Gene Hackman and Mrs.
Arakawa, 65, made errands on February 11, but after that there are no records of their activities, which convinces the health officers that they died on this date. The 95 -year -old Hackman probably died days afterwards from heart disease, as his pacemaker showed activity on February 18, civil servants said.
The couple’s bodies were discovered on February 26th in their house in Santa Fe, NM. One of her three dogs was also found dead.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
