Officials said Friday that Betsy Arakawa, the wife of Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome last month in the couple\u2019s home in New Mexico. <\/p>\n
Hantavirus can infect humans through contact with rodents \u2013 most commonly through the deer mouse in the United States \u2013 especially when exposed to their urine, droppings and saliva, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It does not spread from person to person. <\/p>\n
In the US and other parts of the Western Hemisphere, a hantavirus infection can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare <\/strong>disease that can severely affect the lungs. <\/p>\n Between 1993 and 2022, 834 cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome were reported in the US, primarily in Western states, CDC data shows. <\/p>\n New Mexico has had more reported cases of hantavirus than any other state, and about 41% of those patients died from the disease. A virus called Sin Nombre is the most common hantavirus in the Southwestern US, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. <\/p>\n Because there are limited treatments for the disease, the best protection is to avoid contact with rodents and to be safe when cleaning up rodent habitats, according to the Mayo Clinic. <\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s very dusty, and they get in and are cleaning up around where the contaminated environment is, they can cause little clouds of dust and then inhale those viral particles,\u201d Schaffner said. <\/p>\n Symptoms can take up to two months to show up after contact with the virus, often starting with fatigue, fever and muscle aches that can develop into coughing and shortness of breath within a few days. Some people with the disease may also have headaches, dizziness and chills, as well as nausea or other abdominal problems. <\/p>\n