Health officials in Alaska reported the first known fatality from an uncommon virus known as Alaskapox. An elderly man who contracted the disease died in January, according to a bulletin from Alaska’s Department of Health released on February 9. The department notes that the man’s immune system was weakened due to cancer treatment, which likely contributed to the severity of the illness.
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Authorities are urging doctors across Alaska to be on the lookout for signs of the virus. Here is what we know about the virus.
What is Alaskapox?
Alaskapox was first discovered in an individual in Fairbanks, Alaska in July 2015 and six cases have been detected since. It is a type of orthopoxvirus that infects mammals and can spillover into humans and cause skin lesions. Other orthopoxviruses include the now-eradicated smallpox and mpox. Previously known as monkeypox, an mpox outbreak in 2022 and 2023 caused over 93,000 cases around the world .