The United States recorded the first case of death caused by a rare infection of the disease known as Alaskapox (AKPV) or Alaskan smallpox. The virus, discovered in 2015, belongs to the same genus responsible for causing smallpox.
A bulletin informing about the patient’s death was released by local health authorities last Friday (9/2).
According to the document, this is “Alaska’s first case of serious smallpox infection resulting in hospitalization and death. The patient’s immunocompromised status likely contributed to the severity of the illness.”
Victim
The patient, identified as an elderly person immunocompromised due to the use of drugs to treat cancer, lived on the remote Kenai Peninsula and his age was not revealed. He reportedly noticed a red wound on his armpit skin in September last year.
After seeking help from doctors, he began treatment with antibiotics, without results.
Over the next few weeks, the patient began to experience fatigue and shoulder pain. In mid-November, he was hospitalized. According to the Alaska Department of Health, the man died in late January.
“The patient resided alone in a forested area and reported no recent travel and no close contact with recent travel, illnesses, or similar injuries. He reported caring for a stray cat at his residence that regularly hunted small mammals and frequently scratched the patient, including a notable scratch near the right armpit in the month prior to the onset of the rash,” the note reads.
Also according to the bulletin, this was also the first case of infection recorded outside the interior of the American state. This may be an indication that the virus is more widespread than previously believed.
Small mammals are considered the main vectors of the disease. Health authorities say they are still not sure how the infection reported last Friday occurred, but scratches from a stray cat indicate a possible source of the patient’s illness, according to the bulletin.
Few cases of smallpox in Alaska
Only six other cases of the virus have been reported to Alaska health officials since the first in 2015. All of the people involved lived in the Fairbanks area, more than 483 km (300 miles) from the Kenai Peninsula, health officials said.
All had mild cases and recovered without being hospitalized.
