Hantavirus is a rare but highly fatal virus, federal health officials say.
Authorities said Friday that actor Gene Hackman died of heart failure a week after his wife died of hantavirus, a rare viral infection.
Authorities initially ruled out foul play after the bodies were discovered Feb 26, while a bottle of pills was discovered next to the body of his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning also tested negative.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza announced on Friday the pair’s cause of death during a news conference in New Mexico, where the couple lived and was found dead last month, alongside other officials.
Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner, was 95, and Arakawa was 65.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
By Jack Phillips
