Ms. Arakawa, the wife of the actor Gene Hackman, died from the effects of a disease often caused by contact with droppings from infected rodents.

Betsy Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-spread disease with a mortality rate up to 50% in the American Southwest, officials said.

New details have been released regarding the death of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa Hackman’s dog, Zinna.