California Hantavirus Deaths Raise Alarm in Mono County

Rodrigo Becerra, a 26-year-old bellman at Mammoth Mountain Inn in California, died from suspected hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare rodent-borne disease, just days before his 27th birthday. His death follows that of Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman, who died from hantavirus in February; Gene Hackman himself died of unrelated cardiovascular complications. Becerra had been ill for two weeks and sought medical care the night before his death, but was not hospitalized. Health officials later found rodent droppings at Becerra's workplace but stated the traces did not pose an ongoing risk to others. Mono County has recorded three fatal hantavirus cases this year, all involving people who worked at sites with evidence of rodent activity. Becerra's official cause of death remains pending pathology and toxicology results, but his and Arakawa's deaths have brought new attention to hantavirus risks in the region.