Alaska confirms first fatal case of Alaskapox

Health officials overseas have confirmed the first fatal case of Alaskapox, a disease discovered only nine years ago.

An Alaskapox lesion about 10 days after symptom onset.

Health officials in Alaska have confirmed the state’s first fatal case of Alaskapox, a disease discovered only nine years ago.

An elderly immunocompromised man from the Kenai peninsula, south of Anchorage, died while undergoing treatment in late January.

He is one of only seven reported Alaskapox infections, the Alaska Department of Public Health said in an announcement on Friday.

“People should not necessarily be concerned but more aware,” said Julia Rogers, a state epidemiologist. “So we’re hoping to make clinicians more aware of what Alaskapox virus is, so that they can identify signs and symptoms.”

An elderly immunocompromised man from the Kenai peninsula (pictured) died while undergoing treatment in late January.

The double-stranded-DNA virus, which comes from the same genus as smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox, was first identified in an adult in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2015.

It is most common in small mammals.

The fatal case, the first identified outside of Alaska’s interior, took months to diagnose, as Alaskapox cases had previously only shown mild symptoms in patients — typically a localised rash and swollen lymph nodes.

Other patients who had been diagnosed with the virus did not require treatment, but they all had healthy immune systems, health officials said.

An Alaskapox lesion about 10 days after symptom onset.

The double-stranded-DNA virus, which comes from the same genus as smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox, was first identified in an adult in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2015.

Officials said the man’s immunocompromised condition likely contributed to his death. How he contracted the virus remains unclear.

The man lived alone in the woods and reported no recent travel. Officials said it’s possible that he could have gotten Alaskapox from a cat he lived with who frequently hunted small mammals and scratched him when his symptoms started.

The cat tested negative for the virus — but it could have spread from its claws.

In September, the man noticed a red bump in his right armpit and was prescribed antibiotics. But six weeks later, his symptoms only grew and included fatigue and pain.

He was hospitalised in Anchorage and underwent a “battery of tests” in December and tested positive for cowpox. Additional testing by the Centers for Disease Control revealed it was actually Alaskapox.

His condition initially improved a week after intravenous medications, but he died in late January after experiencing kidney and respiratory failure, health officials said.

- with the New York Post

Originally published as Alaska confirms first fatal case of Alaskapox