Flyers Spark Hantavirus Scare over Chiropractor's Death

The death of Dave Hartstein, a 35-year-old chiropractor from Montauk who succumbed to a short illness Friday, has sparked a town-wide scare that the rodent-borne hantavirus has returned to the South Fork.

The panic was set off after the East End Foundation, which is fundraising for Hartstein's wife, Heather, and their three young children, sent flyers over the weekend that said Hartstein had been cleaning out his basement when he contracted a deadly virus.

But the alert might have been premature. Shira Barzilay, a spokeswoman for Heather Hartstein, said the cause the death has not yet been confirmed.

Grace McGovern of the Suffolk County Department of Health said whether the hantavirus is being looked at as a cause of death could not be confirmed yet. "I would imagine many things are being investigated," she said, adding that the medical examiner's office would have to make a determination first. 

Hantavirus is transmitted by airborne particles originating from rodent feces or urine. If people breath in the particles, they can become infected. According to the CDC, infection with hantavirus can progress to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, which has a mortality rate of 38 percent.

Barzilay said a pest control company had inspected the Hartstein house and had found no evidence of mouse droppings. She said in the meantime, Heather Hartstein and her children Devon, Logan and Shane are staying with her.

Richard Rosenthal, one of Hartstein's patients and friends, sent out an email on Monday morning warning people about the virus.

"I'm 85 and most of my friends are over 60, and here's David, a picture of health and youth. It's just shocking," Rosenthal said by phone.

There are a small number of hantavirus infection cases. A total of 560 cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome were reported in the United States through Dec. 15, 2010.

Rosenthal said he wanted to raise awareness despite not knowing if it did indeed kill the chiropractor. "A lot of people just go into their basements and sweep. I used to do it myself."

The CDC said early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups — thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders. Headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are experienced in about half the patients.

All cases of infection have to be reported to the center's Viral Special Pathogens Branch.

Dave, who was otherwise healthy, had been sick for about eight days, Barzilay said. The family thought he had Lyme's Disease or some sort of mild virus. On Friday morning, his family called for an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital at about 3 a.m. and died around 7:45 a.m., she said.

The hantavirus has been linked to at least two other deaths on the East End, though it's been more than 16 years since the last one.

In January 1994, David Rosenberg, a 22-year-old Brown University student who lived on Shelter Island, died from hantavirus. According to The Daily News, investigators later isolated the hantavirus in a mouse trapped near Rosenberg's house.

In 1995, Verod Hopson, a 25-year-old landscaper from Bridgehampton, died after he was working around some mouse droppings.

Hartstein ran in East Hampton, but also had office hours in Montauk two days a week. He was often seen walking his rhodesian ridgeback Nyah near his office.

In his profile on East Hampton Patch, he wrote: "Seeking out the small town charm of upstate and combining it with a vibrant cosmopolitan feel, Dr. Hartstein and his wife Heather chose the picturesque South Fork of Long Island to settle."

Rosenthal said he had just seen Hartstein a week before he died. "He was a wonderful young man," he said. "There was no greed about him. He was open, he liked to hear ideas."

Fellow chiropractor Dr. Stephen Petruccelli, of Sag Harbor, called him "a great guy, a great doc, and devoted husband and father."

Hartstein wrote on Patch that he enjoyed surfing, stand-up paddling and wood-working. He wrote his favorite thing to do was spend time with his family.

A service will be held on June 23 at 2:30 p.m. at Sole East in Montauk.

Dave was born Jewish, but has studied and followed Kadampa Buddhism with the family for the past six months.

His wife wrote in an email to friends, "On Thursday, at the celebration, we will all be participating in a traditional Buddhist Powa Ceremony, a transference of consciousness where specific prayers are offered to help Dave achieve pure and lasting peace." She asked them to bring flowers for decoration of a shrine that will be built in the ceremony.

A fundraiser is also being planned for them on July 15 at Sole East.

Donations can be made to the East End Foundation, P.O. Box 1746, Montauk, NY 11954. Write "Hartstein" on a memo of the check.