Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa died of hantavirus, here’s all you need to know about the rare illness

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO: Days after Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s mummified bodies were found in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home, forensic experts revealed that the Oscar-winning actor’s wife died of a lung infection spread through rodents. 

At a press conference on Friday, March 7, the medical investigators revealed the causes of the tragic deaths of Hackman, 95, and his 65-year-old wife. 

While ‘The French Connection’ actor died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, New Mexico’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr Heather Jerrell shared that Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) - a respiratory illness that causes fluid buildup in human lungs due to an infection spread by rodents, per The Independent. 

As Arakawa’s death has been attributed to the fatal hantavirus, experts weigh in on how the classical pianist might have contracted the virus.

Exploring how Betsy Arakawa might have been affected by hantavirus

Police confirmed on Friday that Betsy Arakawa - whose lifeless body was found lying in the bathroom - died on February 11, after succumbing to HPS. The authorities further revealed that seven days later, around February 18, her husband died from cardiovascular disease. 

Their bodies were discovered on February 26. Arakawa's body was found lying on the bathroom floor with thyroid medication pills scattered around her.

According to the American Lung Association, HPS “is a rare but potentially life-threatening viral illness transmitted to humans from the infected urine, droppings or saliva of certain species of mice and rats". As reported by Daily Mail, HPS is a rare disease that causes one or two deaths in the US every year. 

According to the outlet, while the couple’s house was largely rodent-free, rodent droppings were found in the garage and outhouses. It is hypothesized that Arakawa might have been affected by the hantavirus while cleaning those places. 

Nevertheless, Santa Fe County sheriff Adan Mendoza further revealed on Friday that Arakawa did not seem ill in the days before her death.

“She was walking around, she was shopping, she was visiting stores. My detectives didn’t indicate that there was any problem with her or struggle of her getting around,” shared Mendoza.

Symptoms and treatment of HPS

As reported by the outlet, while HPS can mainly be transmitted by inhaling virus particles from rodent saliva, urine, or feces, rat bites can also spread the illness. The hantavirus variant that is predominantly found in southwest US spreads through the deer mouse. 

Signs of the disease include fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headache, dizziness, chills, and abdominal or digestive issues. After four to ten days of showing the early symptoms, patients may show further symptoms, including shortness of breath, chest tightness, and fluid in the lungs. 

The treatment for the hantavirus-infected patients includes supportive therapies like rest, hydration, and breathing support.

Betsy Arakawa might have been affected while ‘sweeping in an old garage’

Montana-based infectious disease expert, Dr David Quammen, who is not related to the case, told Daily Mail, that it’s possible that Betsy Arakawa “might have gotten it is if she was sweeping in an old garage".

He continued, “In terms of hantavirus getting communicated to humans, that would generally happen through mouse urine embedded in dust in a dusty building, so in a shed or a garage, where the mice were running around.”

“Then, if someone came in and swept up that dust, inhaling that dust would be enough to give them hantavirus,” explained Dr Quammen.