A week before actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease in their New Mexico home last month, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, had died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare pulmonary disease linked to rodents, New Mexico officials announced Friday.
Hantavirus, an infectious disease, can be contracted by contact with rodents or their urine or feces. While it does not spread between people, the disease is found around the world.
Over four years ago, a mouse collected from the border region of Santee and San Diego tested positive for hantavirus, prompting officials to remind people that if they find rodents in their homes, garages, sheds or cabins, they should never sweep up or vacuum up after them, but use “wet-cleaning” methods instead, to keep from breathing in the virus and getting sick.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome typically begins with flu-like symptoms before rapidly progressing to a more severe disease that could lead to life-threatening heart and lung problems. There is no specific treatment or cure, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.
If not treated, an infection can rapidly progress and become life-threatening.
“It really starts like the flu: body aches, feeling poorly overall,” said Dr. Sonja Bartolome of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Early in the illness, you really may not be able to tell the difference between hantavirus and having the flu.”
The virus can cause a severe and sometimes deadly lung infection called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency began tracking the virus after a 1993 outbreak in the Four Corners region — the area where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.
According to the Mayo Clinic, hantavirus symptoms typically begin one to eight weeks after the time of infection, with the first stage including flu-like symptoms such as:
- Fever and chills
- Muscle aches
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Stomach pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
“If you are ill and then progressing to the sort of symptoms interfering with the things you would normally do during the day, you do need to seek medical attention,” Bartolome said.
The best way to avoid the germ is to minimize contact with rodents and their droppings. Use protective gloves and a bleach solution for cleaning up rodent droppings. Public health experts caution against sweeping or vacuuming which can cause virus to get into the air.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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