An elderly man has died from Alaskapox, the first known fatality from the newly discovered virus, Alaska state health officials said.
The man, who lived on the remote Kenai Peninsula, was hospitalized last November and died in late January, according to a bulletin issued by public health officials last week.
The man was undergoing cancer treatment and had a suppressed immune system due to the medications, which may have contributed to the severity of his illness, the bulletin said. It described him as elderly but did not state his age.
Alaska pox, also known as AKPV, is related to smallpox, cowpox and mpox, health officials said. Symptoms may include a rash, swollen lymph nodes, and joint or muscle pain.
Since the first in 2015, only six other cases of the virus have been reported to Alaska health officials. All the people involved lived in the Fairbanks area, more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) from the Kenai Peninsula, health officials said.
All had mild cases and recovered without hospitalization.
The man who died “lived alone in a wooded area and reported no recent travel and no close contacts with recent travel, illness or similar injuries,” the health bulletin said.
It’s unclear how AKPV is transmitted, but researchers say it could be zoonotic, meaning it can jump from animals to humans. The bulletin said tests found evidence of current or past infection in several species of small mammals in the Fairbanks area, including red-backed voles, and at least one domestic animal.
The man said he had been caring for a stray cat at his home, the bulletin said.
The cat tested negative for the virus, but “regularly chased small mammals and frequently scratched the patient,” the bulletin said.
That opens the possibility that the cat had the virus on its claws when it scratched it. The bulletin noted a “remarkable” scratch near the armpit area where the first symptom – a red lesion – was seen.
Health officials said there were no documented cases of people passing on the virus, but they advised people with skin lesions possibly caused by Alaska pox to cover the affected area with a bandage.
Other suggestions included washing hands thoroughly, avoiding sharing clothing that may have touched the lesions, and washing clothes and sheets separately from other household items.
Health authorities also urged Alaska residents to follow federal health measures when around wildlife to prevent possible Alaskapox infections.