Alaska health officials confirmed this First fatal case of Alaska smallpox, a recently discovered viral disease, in the state.
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Is about an elderly, immunocompromised man from the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, who He died during treatment at the end of January. the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The Alaska Department of Health said the man’s case was one of the cases Seven smallpox infections have been reported in Alaska.
“People should not necessarily be worried, but rather be more aware. “That’s why we hope doctors have a better understanding of what Alaska smallpox virus is so they can recognize signs and symptoms,” officials said.
The double-stranded DNA virus, which belongs to the same genus as smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox, was first identified in 2015 in an adult in Fairbanks, Alaska.. It is most common in small mammals such as voles and shrews.
It took months to diagnose the fatal case, the first outside inland Alaska. As before, cases of smallpox in Alaska showed only mild symptoms in patients, usually a localized rash and swollen lymph nodes.
Other patients diagnosed with the virus did not require treatmentbut all had healthy immune systems, health officials said.
They also said the man’s immunocompromised condition likely contributed to his death. However, it is still unclear how he became infected with the virus.
The man lived alone in the woods and reported no recent travel. Authorities said he may have contracted Alaska smallpox from a cat he lived with who often hunted small mammals and scratched him when his symptoms appeared.
The cat tested negative for the virus, but it could have spread through its claws.
In September, the man noticed a red lump in his right armpit and was prescribed antibiotics. But six weeks later, her symptoms only worsened, with fatigue and pain appearing.
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He was hospitalized in Anchorage, underwent a series of tests in December and tested positive for cowpox. Additional testing by the Centers for Disease Control revealed that it was indeed Alaskan smallpox.
His condition initially improved a week after the intravenous medication, but he died at the end of January as a result of his suffering Renal and respiratory failurehealth officials said.
*brc