• Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s and died of heart disease and other factors likely days after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus, according to autopsy results released  in New Mexico.

• The 95-year-old Oscar-winning actor, 64-year-old Arakawa, and one of their dogs were found dead on February 26 in separate rooms of their home in Santa Fe in the United States.

• Hackman’s heart disease and the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome that caused Arakawa's death were announced at a press conference at the Santa Fe Sheriff's office. 

• Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes.

• Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including ‘The French Connection’, ‘Hoosiers’ and ‘Superman’ from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s. 

• Hantavirus is a rare disease in the US, with most cases concentrated in the western states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

Hantavirus

• Hantaviruses comprise a genus of the family Bunyaviridae.

• These viruses cause diseases like hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).

• People get hantavirus from contact with rodents like rats and mice, especially when exposed to their urine, droppings, and saliva. It can also spread through a bite or scratch by a rodent, but this is rare.

• It is not spread from person-to-person.

• Hantavirus found in the Western Hemisphere can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). The most common hantavirus that causes HPS in the US is spread by the deer mouse.

• Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a group of clinically similar illnesses caused by hantaviruses found mostly in Europe and Asia. However, Seoul virus, a type of hantavirus that causes HFRS, is found worldwide.

• There is no specific treatment for hantavirus infection. Patients should receive supportive care, including rest, hydration, and treatment of symptoms.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)

• Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a zoonotic, viral respiratory disease. 

• The infection is acquired primarily through inhalation of aerosols or contact with infected rodent excreta, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. 

• Cases of human hantavirus infection usually occur in rural areas (forests, fields, and farms) where sylvatic rodents hosting the virus might be found and where persons may be exposed to the virus. 

• This disease is characterised by headache, dizziness, chills fever, myalgia, and gastrointestinal problems, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, followed by sudden onset of respiratory distress and hypotension. 

• Symptoms of HPS typically occur from two to four weeks after initial exposure to the virus. However, symptoms may appear as early as one week and as late as eight weeks following exposure. 

• The case-fatality rate can reach 35-50 per cent.

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