Less than two months since actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their Sante Fe home, and public health officials have this week announced that the extremely rare virus that killed Arakawa has been linked to the death of three others.
The Oscar-winning movie star and classical pianist were found in separate rooms back in February, with a coroner ruling that the couple had been dead for 'some time'. The deceased body of one of their dogs was also discovered inside the property.
Investigating officers initially branded the triple passing as 'suspicious enough' to delve deeper into, which subsequently led to a chief medical examiner landing upon the cause of both Hackman and Arakawa's deaths.
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Dr Heather Jarrell later informed press that 95-year-old Hackman had died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease deemed to be a significant contributory factor in his passing.
It was ruled that Hackman had died around a week after Arakawa, 65, who herself passed away from a more complex condition.
The musician suffered from Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hantavirus is spread mainly by rodents - not from person-to-person - if a person is exposed to the animals' urine, droppings, or saliva.
It can also spread through a bite or scratch by a rat - although, this is considered rare.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is clinically characterised by flu-like symptoms - examples being a fever, muscle aches, cough, vomiting and diarrhoea, and potentially shortness of breath, cardiac or heart failure, and lung failure.
According to officials in California, a further three residents of the state - specifically from Mammoth Lakes - have since died of the rat-borne condition, according to a statement released to press last Thursday (3 April).
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The warning described the latest figures as 'tragic' and 'alarming'.
Dr Tom Boo - a county public health officer - explained: "The occurrence of three cases in a short period has me worried, especially this early in the year."
He added that officials don't yet know how the third and latest victim came to be infected.
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Boo continued: "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."
The medic added that the quantity of deer mice in California's Eastern Sierra region is believed to be at an all-time high - as per NBC News - which could be increasing the risks of exposure.
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Boo went on to disclose that there's no indication so far that the three victims since Arakawa's death engaged in activities that would have been in proximity to common hantavirus exposure zones.
The doctor added that US locals should be more vigilant when it comes to the possibility of mice and rats in their homes.
"We’ve now gone about a month without any additional suspect cases, but remain concerned about the increase in activity," Boo concluded.
Topics: Gene Hackman, Celebrity, Health, US News, News, Animals
Rhianna Benson