For nearly a decade, health officials in the US state of Alaska have been aware of an unusual virus causing rare, relatively mild illnesses in the Fairbanks area.
However, a recent case in another part of the state, which resulted in a man’s death, has brought attention to the virus named after the largest US state. Let’s take a deep dive into the mystery virus:
WHAT IS ALASKAPOX?
It belongs to a family of brick-shaped viruses that can infect animals and humans. These bugs, known as orthopoxviruses, tend to cause lesions, or pox, on the skin. Each has its characteristics, and some are considered more dangerous than others.
Smallpox is perhaps the most famous of the lot, but other family members include camelpox, cowpox, horsepox and mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. Bacl in 2015, Alaskapox was discovered in a woman who lived near Fairbanks, Alaska. It mainly has been found in small mammals, including red-backed voles and shrews. But pets, such as dogs and cats, may also carry the virus, health officials say. Seven people, all in Alaska, have been infected with it in the last nine years.
ITS SYMPTOMS and HOW DOES IT SPREAD?
People with Alaskapox have developed one or more bumps or pustules on the skin, as well as joint or muscle pain and swollen lymph nodes. Nearly all patients had mild illnesses that resolved on their own after a few weeks. But people with weakened immune systems can be in danger of more severe illness.
Officials believe Alaskapox spreads through contact with infected animals. There has been no documented case of it spreading from one person to another. But other viruses in the same family can spread when one person comes in contact with another person’s lesions, so Alaska health officials are advising anyone with an Alaskapox lesion to cover it with a bandage.
LATEST CASE
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. 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.
PROTECT YOURSELF
Alaskapox is a rare illness that in most cases causes relatively mild symptoms, health officials believe. But wildlife can carry infection risks. Health officials say the best way to keep family members safe is to keep a safe distance and wash your hands after being outdoors.
(With agency inputs)
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