After the trauma caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is now preoccupied with the hantavirus. In total, eleven passengers on the MV Hondius ship have tested positive for the virus, and two of them have died from the disease. On Tuesday, May 12, the cruise ship is en route to the Netherlands after evacuating its passengers in the Canary Islands. “Nine of the eleven cases have been confirmed as the Andes virus,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO. Although the hantavirus is frightening today, it is not new. The disease has been implicated in a Hollywood couple that made headlines: actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa.
On February 26, the bodies of the 95-year-old comedian and the 65-year-old pianist were found dead in their Santa Fe home. Two deaths with initially mysterious circumstances. While initial hypotheses suggested a marital tragedy or a gas leak, the truth was different. According to the investigation, the actor’s companion for three decades was the first to die from a pulmonary syndrome caused by the hantavirus, which she contracted from rodents infesting their home.
According to forensic pathologist Heather Jarre, the infection develops “after an eight-week exposure to the excrement of a particular species of mouse carrying the hantavirus.” Investigators found nests and excrement in several places in the property.
Gene Hackman, suffering from a form of Alzheimer’s, did not survive long after the loss of his wife, who was his primary caregiver. He passed away nine days after his wife’s death from a hypertensive cardiovascular disease. A tragic end.
The hantavirus, originating from the Americas, is not transmitted between humans but rather by inhaling contaminated particles from rodents. Its high mortality rate, between 30 and 60%, is especially concerning. “The strain of the disease circulating in the southwest United States can be fatal in 50% of cases,” wrote the pathologist in her report.
In 2024, New Mexico only had seven cases of hantavirus. In 2025, Betsy Arakawa officially became the first victim of the year in the state, once again demonstrating that contact with rodents is the main threat.
