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Hantavirus: Confronting a Mystery In May 1993, three young, healthy adults from the Navajo Nation, in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States, died from a sudden respiratory illness. Local and state medical officials first thought bubonic plague, influenza, and viral pneumonia—respiratory diseases known to affect the Navajo—were responsible. According to laboratory tests, they ruled these diseases, as well as toxic chemicals, out.
Health agency personnel then learned of similar deaths throughout the region, among both Navajo and non-Navajo people. Medical experts from across the country were called in, and the list of possible explanations grew.
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| The Four Corners region, where the borders of four states meet. The area is also home to the Navajo Nation. |
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| An expert from the Centers for Disease Control takes precautions against the mysterious disease. |
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| An X-ray of one of the victim's lungs, showing extensive cloudiness; the lungs were severely filled with fluid, causing death soon after. |
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