GENE Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa died from the rare infectious disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

New Mexico officials confirmed the cause of Arakawa’s death on March 7, 2025.

The couple Arakawa, 65, and Hackman, 95, were discovered dead in their Santa Fe home on February 26, 2025.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome “causes flu-like symptoms that can progress to more severe illness where people have trouble breathing.”

Betsy was believed to have died first, with February 11 being the last time she was known to be alive.

Hackman, a two-time Academy Award winner, is believed to have died around February 18, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said.

Dr. Jarrell identified Hackman’s cause of death as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiac disease.

An autopsy result revealed that Hackman, 95, also had advanced Alzheimer’s, which “significantly contributed” to his death.

“Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” Jarrell said.

“He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death.”

What is hantavirus?

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hantavirus pathogens are mainly spread between rodents.

In very rare cases, the disease can be passed to humans and cause varied disease syndromes.

These include hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).

The CDC said: “Each hantavirus serotype has a specific rodent host species and is spread to people via aerosolised virus that is shed in urine, feces, and saliva, and less frequently by a bite from an infected host.”

Dr Sumaiya Shaikh, a Swedish scientist, tweeted: “The #Hantavirus first emerged in 1950s in the American-Korean war in Korea (Hantan river).

“It spreads from rat/mice if humans ingest their body fluids.

“Human-human transmission is rare. Please do not panic, unless you plan to eat rats.”

While hantavirus is rare, it carries a 38 per cent death rate according to the CDC.

What are the symptoms of hantavirus and how does it spread?

People infected by hantavirus will show symptoms including fever, bleeding and kidney damage, according to experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The incubation period of hantavirus is usually seven to 14 days, with rare cases showing symptoms as short as four days or as long as two months.

Early symptoms include exhaustion, vomit and reddish cheeks.

Humans can contract the hantavirus from infected rodents, who are either wild or pets.

People can also contract it from a rodent’s feces or urine or via contact with the eyes, nose or mouth.

People can also be infected by a bite by infected rodents.

There has been no direct person-to-person transmissions so far reported, according to media reports.

In China, vaccines for the hantavirus have been available for nearly 20 years, and taking vaccines is seen as the most effective way to prevent the infection.

China has vaccine programs in place for hantavirus in high-risk regions.