A Santa Fe County man in his 60s was hospitalized with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and has recovered, the New Mexico Department of Health announced Thursday.
It marks the first case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year. The state saw seven cases in 2025, three of which were fatal — including one case found to have caused the death of Betsy Arakawa, a Santa Fe resident and wife of actor Gene Hackman.
Hantavirus is spread through infected rodent urine, feces and saliva, said Erin Phipps, state public health veterinarian for the Department of Health.
“People are typically infected by breathing in the virus when rodent urine or droppings are stirred up into the air,” Phipps said. “That can happen when a person enters or cleans a building that mice have been living in, especially when ventilation is poor.”
The local version of the disease, known as the Sin Nombre virus, is not transmitted from person to person and is primarily spread through the droppings of deer mice. However, scientists at the University of New Mexico have determined more than 30 species of small mammals in the state carry the virus, including ground squirrels, chipmunks, gophers and rats.
Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory found the risk of hantavirus is particularly high in drier and less developed areas, like much of New Mexico. From 1993 to 2022, the state reported 122 hantavirus infections, federal data shows — the highest number of cases of any state during that period, with 94% of cases nationwide occurring west of the Mississippi River.
Infections can escalate to what is called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, in which patients develop a severe respiratory illness and shock.
“Overall, about a third of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome patients pass away from it, and so it is a very dangerous condition,” Phipps said.
Symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — which can include fever, muscle aches, chills, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and cough — typically develop within one to six weeks after exposure to the virus.
As New Mexico residents start their spring cleaning, Phipps said, “It’s important for people to look for signs that rodents have entered their house, their garages, their sheds or also their vehicles.”
To avoid infection, Phipps recommended opening doors and windows in any enclosed spaces for at least 30 minutes before cleaning the area.
Rather than sweeping up rodent droppings — which can kick hantavirus into the air — spray them with disinfectant or a bleach-water solution and wait five minutes before cleaning it up using rubber gloves and paper towels.
“Rodents are everywhere in New Mexico,” Phipps said. “A lot of properties have them. It can be difficult to exclude them.”
Really unfortunate; hope he rec covers, and soon! Curious to know what part of the city they think he was exposed to the virus.