Hollywood legend Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found in their Santa Fe home in February, with a coroner later discovering she had hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
A rare virus linked to the death of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman’s partner has been found in three more victims, sparking warnings.
The Superman star and his classical pianist wife Betsy Arakawa were found partly decomposed and mummified in their Santa Fe home on February 26. Officers made the grim recovery following a welfare check sparked by concerned property staff. Experts posited Hackman succumbed to heart disease exacerbated by Alzheimer’s approximately a week after to Arakawa’s death caused by hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare condition passed on by rodents. Now three people in a rural town in California have also been found to have the rare disease.
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Dr Tom Boo, Mono County public health officer, said in a statement: “The occurrence of three cases in a short period has me worried, especially this early in the year.
“A third case of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), each of which has been fatal, is tragic and alarming. We don’t have a clear sense of where this young adult may have contracted the virus.
“The home had no evidence of mouse activity. We observed some mice in the workplace, which is not unusual for indoor spaces this time of year in Mammoth Lakes.
“We haven’t identified any other activities in the weeks before illness that would have increased this person’s exposure to mice or their droppings.
“We’ve been aware of this suspected case for some weeks, but it has taken time to obtain testing. Historically, we tend to see Hantavirus cases later in the spring and in the summer.
“We’ve now gone about a month without any additional suspect cases, but remain concerned about the increase in activity. Mono County has now recorded 27 cases since it was first reported here in 1993, the most in the State of California.
“Twenty one of these infections affected county residents, and six occurred in visitors who were infected in Mono. Hantavirus more commonly occurs in the late spring or summer, so three cases this early in the year is strikingly unusual.”
Last month lawyers for Gene Hackman’s estate argued in a Sante Fe court photographs and videos of the actor and his wife’s bodies should not be released to the public, according to Deadline. They argued the estate has a right “to protect Gene and Betsy’s property, including photographs and videos of their dead bodies”.
