Gene Hackman’s wife died of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome: what to know

Betsy ArakawaWife late Gene HackmanDied due to Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, said New Mexico official on Friday.

Confirmation of the cause of his death ended for a week -a week of mystery after the two Arakawa, 65, and Hackman, 95, were found dead Inside their Santa Fe’s house on February 26, without a clear sign of how they died, according to the Sheriff Office of Santa Fe.

Head of State Medical Investigator Friday said Hackman, the actor winning the Academy award, died of cardiovascular hypertension, with “Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contribution factor.”

Officials said that Hackman died around 18 February, and Arakawa died around 11 February. Hackman, who is known to share three pet dogs with arakawa, is likely to be at home with his wife who died for one week before he died, said the authorities.

While the cause of Hackman’s death – a condition in which high blood pressure damages blood vessels, which causes heart problems – more common, syndrome that causes death is rare.

There are less than 900 cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States for almost the last 30 years, according to US Disease Control Center.

What is Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a condition that “causes flu -like symptoms that can develop into more severe diseases where people have difficulty breathing,” according to the CDC. This is a severe and potentially fatal infection that mainly affects the lungs and requires rapid medical attention.

Hantavirus is a virus family that can cause serious illness and death, and some hantavirus causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

Most hantavirus found in the US causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to CDC.

What are the symptoms of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

Initially, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome causes flu -like symptoms which can then develop into a more severe disease, causing difficulty breathing, according to CDC.

Initial symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, fatigue. About 10 days entering the disease, patients can experience coughing and shortness of breath with some potentially experience fluids that accumulate in the lungs.

How is Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome treated?

CDC recommends that patients suspected of having Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome are immediately treated, even before the diagnosis is made, because the symptoms of hantavirus can resemble many other viral infections, such as influenza.

Hantavirus is diagnosed with a blood test.

Medical treatment for lung hantavirus syndrome can include additional oxygen, antibiotic therapy, fluids and mechanical or non-invasive ventilation, according to CDC.

This syndrome is fatal in almost four out of 10 infected people, according to CDC.

How does Hantavirus spread?

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is spread by rodents infected through their urine, stool and saliva, according to CDC.

In the US, hantavirus is the most common that causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome to be distributed by deer rats.

People can be infected if they breathe in the air contaminated with hantavirus when cleaning after rodents; Touch the contaminated object and then touch their faces; bitten or scratched by infected rodents; Or eat foods that have been contaminated with hantavirus, according to CDC.

Dogs and cats are not known to be infected by hantavirus, according to CDC, but they can spread it to humans if they bring rodents infected to humans or in the house.

How common is Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

There are only about 860 cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome since the CDC began to track the syndrome in 1993 in the US

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The state of New Mexico reported Seven cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in each of the last two years.

Between 1975 and 2023, the state recorded a total of 129 cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome with 52 deaths, according to Ministry of Health New Mexico.