Gene Hackman‘s wife Betsy Arakawa died of a lung infection spread from rats, authorities revealed today in the latest twist in the case.
Medical investigators in New Mexico said in a press conference Friday that Arakawa, 65, was infected with hantavirus which caused a deadly build-up of fluid in her lungs, known medically as hentavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).
HPS is so rare in the US that only one or two people die every year, and there have only been around 1,000 cases in the past three decades, mostly among farmers, hikers and campers and homeless populations.
The virus is spread through the inhalation of airborne particles containing the virus, which is typically found in the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents.
DailyMail.com understands while there was no rodent activity in the main house, there were rodent droppings in the couple’s garage and outhouses.
Experts told this website Arakawa could have picked HPS up from cleaning those areas.
Hackman and Arakawa’s dog was also found dead in the house. Authorities note that while there is evidence that dogs can catch the virus, the animals do not show symptoms and there are no recorded cases of them passing the virus on to humans.
Hantavirus is not known to spread from person to person, and health officials confirmed Hackman was negative for the virus and died from natural causes, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa (pictured here with Hackman) died of the rare rodent disease hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, officials confirmed Friday
HPS is an extremely rare disease usually spread by rodents through saliva, urine, feces, or bites. In the US, it’s most commonly spread by the deer mouse, pictured here
Santa Fe County sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday that based on surveillance camera footage, Arakawa did not seem ill in the days leading up to her death.
He said: ‘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.’
The CDC confirmed it is in contact with New Mexico health authorities and has offered to test samples to learn more about the strain of virus and perform further testing.
HPS is transmitted through the inhaling virus particles from rodent saliva, urine, or feces. It may also spread through rodent bites.
In the US, deer mice are the most common carriers.
The type of hantavirus found in the Southwest is spread by deer mouse, which is commonly found in New Mexico.
Symptoms typically show up within one to eight weeks of exposure to infected rodents.
Signs include fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headache, dizziness, chills, and abdominal or digestive issues.
After four to 10 days of the early symptoms, patients may experience shortness of breath, chest tightness, and fluid in the lungs.
HPS is thought to kill 30 to 40 percent of patients, and there is no specific treatment for the virus.
Patients are instead given supportive therapies like rest, hydration, and breathing support.
The CDC estimates HPS only affects about 40 to 50 Americans per year, and only 864 cases were identified between 1993 and 2022, the latest data available.
In New Mexico, where Hackman and Arakawa lived, there have been 129 cases of hantavirus confirmed since 1993, including seven in 2023, the most recent year data is available.
A CDC spokesperson told DailyMail.com the agency ‘is in contact with health officials in New Mexico who determined a woman has died of hantavirus infection.’
They added: ‘Her blood samples tested positive for a recent hantavirus infection at the state health department lab and the University of New Mexico Medical Center.
‘CDC has offered to test samples to learn more about the strain of virus that infected the individual and to perform pathology testing.’
Pictured above is the home of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa. DailyMail.com understands that while there were no mouse droppings in the main house, they were in the garage and two smaller buildings on the property
Dr David Quammen, an infectious disease expert in Montana not involved in the case, told DailyMail.com that while he can’t be sure how Arakawa caught the disease despite not fitting the typical profile, it’s possible she ‘might have gotten it is if she was sweeping in an old garage.’
He said: ‘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.’
He noted this was the case in a 1992 outbreak of HPS in the southwestern US, which killed 17 people.
Dr Quammen explained: ‘There was lots of seasonal grass available early on, and therefore the mouse population boomed.
‘The mice generated a lot of hantavirus, and it went into the urine and it was in the dust and people then swept up the dust, and got infected.’
DailyMail.com understands that while there were mouse droppings in the family’s garage and smaller buildings, the risk of developing HPS was low.
Dr Quammen also noted it’s possible one of Arakawa and Hackman’s dogs carried HPS, though it’s unlikely.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, there is evidence that dogs can catch hantavirus, but they do not show symptoms, and there are no recorded cases of them passing it to humans.
Dr Quammen told this website investigators should consider testing the dogs for evidence of HPS as well because the disease has ‘rapid progression.’
The CDC said the best way to protect against HPS is to keep wild mice and rats out of your home and clean up food that may attract rodents.
