The rare Hantavirus that the wife of Gene Hackman Betsy Arakawa killed has demanded the lives of three more people in California.
The victims all came from the city of Mammoth Lakes, about 250 miles inland from San Francisco, where civil servants said they had been hit by Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS).
Dr. Tom Boo, the public health officer for Mono County, where the dead took place, described the incidents that came so close together as 'tragic and alarming'.
The health official said it was not yet understood where the deceased people had sustained the deadly virus, which is extremely unusual.
HPS is so rare in the US that only one or two people die every year, and there have been only about 1,000 cases in the past three decades, usually among farmers, walkers and campers and homeless populations.
The dead come weeks after Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found dead on 26 February in their house in New Mexico, after Arakawa had suffered and died and left Hackman to die days later.
During a press conference after their bodies were discovered, medical researchers said that Arakawa was infected with Hantavirus that caused a fatal structure of liquid in its lungs.
The virus is spread by the inhalation of particles in the air containing the virus, which is typically found in the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents.
Three people died in the city of Mammoth Lakes, California (photo) of the same rare Hantavirus disease that recently killed the wife of actor Gene Hackman
The wife of Gene Hackman Betsy Arakawa (depicted here with Hackman in 1993) died of rare rodent Hantavirus Long syndrome
After Arakawa died, Hackman died, who walked to Alzheimer's, days later on cardiovascular disease.
Arakawa was found in the bathroom of the house of the couple, and the remaining scene told a grim story about how quickly she refused after she was brought down by HPS.
She was found on the floor with her head next to a space heating with thyroid medication pills spread over her.
Hackman may have been forced, lost and confused-to's partner of three decades by his side for seven days around the vast house of 9,000 square feet to feed him and take care of their three cherished dogs.
On the left to take care of himself and with his wife's body dissected in their bathroom, Hackman, who was already in 'very poor health', went without food.
An autopsy showed that his stomach was empty at the time of his death.
Hackman was found dead with his walking stick and sunglasses on his side in a room near the kitchen after an apparent fall – shining that he might be on his way to the house before his weak heart gave in.
The last recorded activity of his pacemaker was on February 18 – but help would only arrive more than a week later.
Above is the home base of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa. Dailymail.com understands that although there were no excrements of mice in the main building, they were in the garage and were two smaller buildings on the site
The couple, who died of each other in February in February, was found near one of their German Shephard dogs in his cage
The dogs were discovered when the mummified bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were discovered on 26 February by two maintenance workers.
Dailymail.com understands, although there was no rodent activity in the main building, there were droppings of rodents in the garage and outbuildings of the couple.
Experts said that this website could have picked up Arakawa HPS by cleaning those areas. Officials added that on the basis of surveillance images, Arakawa was not sick in the days prior to her death.
The dog of Hackman and Arakawa was also found dead in the house. Authorities note that although there are indications that dogs can catch the virus, the animals show no symptoms and there are no registered cases in which they pass on the virus to people.
It is not known that Hantavirus is spreading from person to person, and health officials confirmed that Hackman was negative for the virus and died of natural causes, including Alzheimer's disease.
HPS is transferred via the inhaling virus particles of rodent saliva, urine or droppings. It can also spread through rodent bites.
In the US, deer mice are the most common carriers.
The type of Hantavirus found in the southwest is spread by deer mouse, which is often found in New Mexico.
Symptoms usually appear within one to eight weeks after exposure to infected rodents.
HPS is an extremely rare disease that is usually spread by rodents by saliva, urine, stools or bites. In the US it is usually spread by the deer mouse, depicted here
Signs include fatigue, fever, muscle pain, headache, dizziness, chills and abdominal or digestive problems.
After four to 10 days of early symptoms, patients can experience a shortness of breath, the boral and liquid in the lungs.
It is thought that HPS kills 30 to 40 percent of patients and there is no specific treatment for the virus.
Instead, patients receive supporting therapies such as rest, hydration and respiratory support.
The CDC estimates that HPS affects only about 40 to 50 Americans a year, and only 864 cases were identified between 1993 and 2022, the last available data.
In New Mexico, where Hackman and Arakawa lived, 129 cases of Hantavirus have been confirmed since 1993, including seven in 2023, the most recent data of the year are available.
