Authorities said on Friday (7) that Betsy Arakawa wife of the Oscar -winning actor Gene Hackman died of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome Last month at the couple’s house in New Mexico.
Hantavirus can infect humans through contact with rodents-more commonly through the US rat-especially when exposed to urine, feces and saliva, according to US disease control and prevention centers. He does not spread from person to person.
In the US and other parts of the western hemisphere, a hantavirus infection can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a Rare disease that can severely affect the lungs.
Between 1993 and 2022, 834 cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome were reported in the US, especially in Western states, show CDC data. New Mexico had more reported cases of hantavirus than any other state, and about 41% of these patients died of the disease.
A virus called Sin Nombre It is the most common Hantavirus in the southwest of the US, said Dr. William Schaffner, a specialist in infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
As there are limited treatments for the disease, the best protection is to avoid contact with rodents and be safe when cleaning rodent habitats, according to Mayo Clinic.
“If they are very dusty, and they enter and clean around the contaminated environment, they can cause small clouds of dust and then inhale these viral particles,” said Schaffner.
Symptoms can take up to two months to appear after contact with the virus, usually starting with fatigue, fever and muscle aches that can evolve into cough and shortness of breath within a few days. Some people with the disease may also have headaches, dizziness and chills, as well as nausea or other abdominal problems.
By affecting lungs, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can cause breathing difficulties, and some patients may need respiratory support such as intubation. More than a third of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from the disease, according to the CDC.
Some symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome may be confused with flu or other respiratory diseases, making possible exposure to rodents an important factor for health professionals to be aware and consider.
The CDC recommends that individuals seek emergency care immediately if there is suspected lung syndrome by hantaviruses, because the disease may progress quickly.
After a phase of flu symptoms that can last about three to six days, patients can transition to a new phase in which they develop fluid inside and around the lungs, Dr. Heather Jarrell, a medical researcher at New Mexico’s medical investigator, said at a news conference on Friday.
“And at this point, a person can die very quickly, in approximately 24 to 48 hours, without medical treatment,” she said.
There is no specific treatment for hantavirus infection, according to the CDC. Support care, including rest, hydration and supplementary oxygen, can help.
“Doctors who work in the southwest are aware of this and, of course, treatment for these diseases is symptomatic and supportive care, becauseWe have a specific anti-hantviral antiviral ”Said Schaffner.
This content was originally published in what is known about Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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