WAUKESHA, Wis. — A Waukesha County woman is sharing her mother's near death experience with an extremely rare and potentially fatal virus to raise awareness in our community.
The woman's mother contracted hantavirus after cleaning out an old barn on their property. It might be familiar to some because it is the virus that killed actor Gene Hackman’s wife and lead to his death. The virus is so uncommon in Wisconsin, the CDC has only recorded five cases in the past 30 years.
Maggie spoke to TMJ4 about her mother's ordeal. We aren't using Maggie's last name because her mother doesn't want to be identified.
"She's like I have muscle aches, my hip hurts, I'm just tired. I have a headache," said Maggie, describing her mother's initial symptoms.
Maggie, a pharmacist, recognized the severity of her mother's condition and rushed her to the hospital.
"We took her in at noon and by midnight she was on a ventilator. It happened that quick," Maggie said. "She filled up with fluid, then heart failure, kidneys started to fail. Sepsis symptoms. It got really, really scary, really fast."
Medical professionals were initially puzzled by the case, given the rarity of hantavirus in Wisconsin.
Watch: Waukesha woman raising awareness after rare virus that killed Gene Hackman nearly killed her mom
"The infectious disease doctor says, 'It looks an awful lot like hantavirus except that it is ridiculous because it can't. I feel silly saying that because it clearly isn't, couldn't be that because we don't have that around here,'" Maggie recalled the doctor saying.
After investigating the situation, the source was likely an old barn on the family's property that had been locked for years. Maggie's mother had recently been cleaning it out. It took a few weeks between cleaning out the barn and Maggie's mom's symptoms to appear.
According to the CDC, Sin Nombre virus is the common cause of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome which is what Maggie's mother tested positive for. It is not spread between humans. It is carried by rodents and people usually get it by touching contaminated surfaces or breathing in the virus.
TMJ4 reached out to the Waukesha County Health Department, which confirmed they had no record of another local case besides Maggie's mother. This underscores just how unusual this diagnosis is in our region.
Maggie's family is speaking out because they believe simple precautions could have prevented this life-threatening illness.
"With the seriousness of it, there is a 40% chance you will die if you get it, even if you get treatment. People have the right to know it exists even if it is rare," Maggie said.
While Maggie's mother has been released from the hospital, she continues to deal with heart and kidney complications resulting from the virus.
Health experts recommend letting closed spaces air out in sunlight and wearing masks when cleaning areas that may have rodent infestations - simple steps that could prevent exposure to this rare but dangerous virus.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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