JFC Hantavirus is a big deal here. So is bubonic plague. Neither is relegated to "history"; we lose a few people to them annually in NM. It's just rarely a wealthy celebrity. And this is yet another reason why we need a robust public health system. apnews.com/article/gene... - ThreadSky

ajijaakwe.bsky.social • 41 days ago

JFC

Hantavirus is a big deal here. So is bubonic plague. Neither is relegated to "history"; we lose a few people to them annually in NM. It's just rarely a wealthy celebrity.

And this is yet another reason why we need a robust public health system.

https://apnews.com/article/gene-hackman-death-betsy-arakawa-investigation-c94b2cb4d5d7aec9a1a39a81b46dbdf9

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carpenter22.bsky.social•40 days ago

Ironic, isn't it, that one of the maintenance people coming to Hackman's home was an exterminator? I guess they had rats in the area and were vigilant about removing them. But one of the dogs? Considering Hackman's deteriorated health, I still can't understand why they didn't have live-in help.

ajijaakwe.bsky.social•40 days ago

The dog was in a crate. It undoubtedly died of dehydration, unable to get out. They had two other dogs that were loose and were able to use the doggy door.

A couple of things:

carpenter22.bsky.social•40 days ago

I saw a report that indicated that the dog had had some sort of procedure. We don't know, now, whether or not it died from dehydration. In any case, it was a clear loss because it was a rescue that the wife was devoted to, and it felt a mutual bond with her.

ajijaakwe.bsky.social•40 days ago

I haven't seen anything about a procedure [and rumors are rife here, and mostly nonsense]. But a dog can't go many days without water, and that's the most likely explanation. It was there for at least a week to ten days with no water. It would've been gone for several days already.

carpenter22.bsky.social•40 days ago

That's terrible. I feel so bad for that animal. Too bad there wasn't someone checking on them on a regular basis.

ajijaakwe.bsky.social•40 days ago

First, hantavirus presents initially as just another bug, like a bad cold or the flu. She probably didn't even know that's what she had. But it can turn to hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome very fast, and it sounds like it literally dropped her in her tracks.

Second:

ajijaakwe.bsky.social•40 days ago

As to the "why didn't they have live-in help" part, very private people don't like that, and as we get older, that desire for privacy intensifies. They probably didn't want it [we wouldn't], and it was reasonable; she was enough younger and otherwise healthy, and you can't predict some things.

oldpig.bsky.social•40 days ago

ajijaakwe.bsky.social•41 days ago

I say "rarely," but I think the more correct term, up until now, would have been "never."

Poor folks, esp Native folks, are at greatest risk.

And you know what would've prevented hantavirus exposure?

WEARING A MASK.

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