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.

Actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, had their cause of deaths shared by New Mexico health officials Friday, with Hackman dying of a form of heart disease and Arakawa dying of hantavirus—marking a rare case of the disease typically spread through rodents.