What Is Hantavirus? All About the Rare Disease Spread by Rats That Led to Betsy Hackman's Death

Mar. 15, 2025

Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa.Photo:DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The New Mexico’s Chief Medical Examiner announced during a press conference on Friday, March 7, that Betsy died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a flu-like virus linked to rodent droppings. Erin Phipps, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Health Department, said investigators found signs of “rodent entry” in outlying structures on the property, though the assessed risk in the main house was deemed “low.”

Hantavirus cases are relatively rare, but fatal in up to 42% of cases in New Mexico, said Phipps. There have reportedly been less than 10 cases of the virus in the state in the last five years. Officials reported Betsy’s case to the CDC as the hantavirus is a “notifiable condition.”

“This is a serious disease,” said Phipps.

Here’s what to know about the rodent-borne virus.

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Hantavirusis an infectious disease that’s normally spread through contact with rodents such as deer mice, cotton rats, rice rats and the white-footed mouse. The virus is typically transmitted to humans when they are bitten or come into contact with urine, droppings and saliva of an infected rodent.

Hantavirus can lead to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), according to theCenters for Disease Control.

Symptoms include fever, fatigue and muscle aches — especially in the thighs, hips, back and shoulders — coughing and shortness of breath. Patients might also experience tightness in the chest as fluid builds up in the lungs. They typically appear one to eight weeks after contact with the infected rodent.

HPS is a severe and potentially deadly disease, the CDC warns.  It can be diagnosed with blood tests and it’s curable if treated quickly as symptoms can worsen suddenly and become life-threatening. Medical care can include intubation and mechanical ventilation to support breathing and manage fluid in the lungs, as well as blood oxygenation, according to theMayo Clinic.

The CDC also urges proper clean up of easy-to-get-to food that may attract rodents.

source: people.com