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Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), a possible transmitter of the Hantavirus, 1990. Image courtesy ... More Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
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To everyone’s surprise, the virus that killed Gene Hackman's wife Betsy Arakawa in February was found to be hantavirus, an uncommon viral infection spread by rodents.
Arakawa had called a clinic for feeling “congested” and was given an appointment. She did not keep that and was later found dead in her home, along with her husband, the prominent actor.
Later in February, three more deaths from hantavirus were reported from Mammoth Lakes, California. There was also a cluster of hanta isolates in San Diego in 2018.
The first cluster of deaths was noted in 1993 when there were sudden deaths among healthy young people in the Four Corners area of the southwest. They all died from overwhelming lung infection and respiratory failure.
Hantavirus infections were found in the deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) living around the homes of those who were ill. The CDC named this strain Sin Nombre virus.
This case was fascinating because the clues to solving these mysterious deaths came from Navaho elders. They were attuned to patterns in nature and had noted earlier cyclical clusters of deaths. Why? Each cycle followed a year of increased rainfall (an El Niño year). The abundance of rain meant that there was more food available for the deer mice, whose populations exploded. When there were more mice, people living nearby had more exposure to the rodent urine and droppings, and cases would increase. The Navaho elders were at the forefront of linking changes in climate to infections.
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