Health officials found wide evidence of rats about the duration of the property of Gene Hackman in New Mexico, a Hantavirus risk assessment test after the star’s wife was killed by the disease linked to rodents at the end of February.
An environmental evaluation of the property carried out in March, only one week after the couple was found dead, revealed rodent feces in three garages, two houses and three sheds. An additional living rodent, a dead rodent and a complete nest were found in the three separate garages, according to the report of the New Mexico Medical Researcher Office.
The findings are not included in the initial report after Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead at home on February 26, but the full report obtained by TMZ on Monday revealed on Monday the total extension of the infestation.
Arakawa, 65, died of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is a strange disease that humans can capture from contact with rodents, rodent stool, saliva and urine, according to the results of the autopsy.
Hackman, 95, died a few days after Arakawa, after complications with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease along with Alzheimer’s advanced disease.
The staff of the New Mexico Department of Health previously carried out the risk assessment on March 5 according to the investigation of death to ensure that lifeguards and family members who had accessed the property were safe.
The initial evaluation determined that the risk of exposure in the primary residence was low and that there were no signs of rodent activity inside. It did not include the new information revealed about the condition of the dependencies.
All the other eight buildings and two vehicles on the property were accessible to the rodents, according to the report. The researchers found live traps in Meant’s units to contain rodents.
Hantavirus, although weird, has a 41% mortality rate for patients in New Mexico. The State also has the most reported cases of Hantavirus in the country.
Anyone who tries to clean the habitats of rodents, either in their homes or in the natural environment, must avoid contact and, if possible, the protection of wear.
Hantavirus presents symptoms similar to the flu at the beginning that can take up to two months to manifest, according to the CDC. Anyway, there is no specific treatment for the virus or its symptoms.