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If you regularly read news stories on your mobile device or watch them on TV then you have noticed that hantavirus has been talked about a great deal in recent weeks. That is due the to the situation surrounding Gene Hackman. He was a very successful actor whose career took off in the 70’s and who continued to make movies well into the early 2000’s.
Hackman and his wife were found deceased in their New Mexico mansion earlier this year. It later came out that he died of heart failure and she died of hantavirus. So, let’s take a dive into what this virus is, where it came from, and how humans contract it.
Hantavirus was first identified, studied and named in the early 1950’s, during the Korean War. Hantan River is actually the name of a river there and is where the virus got its name.
This virus is carried specifically by rodents like mice, but especially rats. Many rats can carry the disease and show no effects from it. Humans, on the other hand, get very sick if left untreated. Something called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) can develop and as we saw recently, can kill the host. This is the resulting disease which affects the lungs and eventually the heart.
The virus is transmitted through contact with the dropping of an infected rodent. A very common way this happens is if dried, partialized droppings are kicked up into the air and breathed. — See our rodent pest control service here —
Unfortunately, there is no cure for the virus. But, treatment can be administered (if caught early enough) that will prolong the lifespan of the infected person. Treatments include, various medicines, body fluid management, and oxygen therapy.
If you are having breathing issues, feel tired, have fatigue that won’t seem to go away, schedule an appointment with your doctor and get it checked out right away.
