A 26-year-old man in the US, Rodrigo Becerra, has died from a rare disease called hantavirus, the same virus that killed Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, in February. Becerra was found dead at his home in Mammoth Lakes on March 6, just days before his 27th birthday. He had been very sick and was given antibiotics the night before he was found unresponsive and convulsing. He later died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease caused by a virus carried by rodents.
Becerra worked as a bellhop at Mammoth Mountain Inn, where small amounts of rodent droppings were found behind the front desk. However, health officials said the small amount found wasn’t a major concern for the health and safety of employees or guests at the inn.
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There was no evidence of rodents or droppings in Becerra’s home, which was provided by his employer. Hantavirus is mostly spread to humans through contact with rodent urine, saliva, or feces. It is not passed from person to person, and it is very rarely spread by a rodent’s bite or scratch.
Becerra’s sister, Mariela, said her brother had been sick for two weeks before paramedics found him without a pulse. Although the coroner has not yet confirmed the exact cause of death, Mariela expressed frustration that her brother wasn’t admitted to the hospital sooner. She said that even if a patient doesn’t remember being exposed to mice, doctors should still consider hantavirus as a possibility.
In February, Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, also died from hantavirus in their home in New Mexico.
