Alaskapox: Symptoms, treatment, how to protect, what to know
Alaskapox has once again in the news after the first death case has been reported in Alaska's Kenai peninsula.
On February 9, authorities issued a bulletin disclosing that an elderly man contracted the virus in September 2023, presumably after being scratched by an infected stray cat.
Alaska health officials are aware of seven people infected with Alaskapox since the virus was discovered, but the latest case represents the first time someone is known to have died from it, as per an AP report.
The elderly man, who lived in the Kenai Peninsula, was being treated for cancer and had a suppressed immune system because of the drugs. In September, he noticed a red sore under his right armpit and went to see doctors over the next two months because of fatigue and burning pain. He was hospitalized in November and died last month, according to a bulletin last week from Alaska public health officials.
The man lived in a remote forested area and did not travel. He had been repeatedly scratched by a stray cat that hunted small animals, and one of the scratches was in the area of the man's armpit, officials said.
For nine years, Alaska health officials have been aware of an unusual virus causing rare, relatively mild illnesses in the Fairbanks area. But a recent case in another part of the state — this one resulting in a man's death — has brought new attention to the so-called Alaskapox virus, as per an AP report.
Alaskapox belongs to a family of brick-shaped
