In the USA, a person has died for the first time after being infected with the novel Alaskapox virus. An elderly man, already weakened by cancer treatment, died last month in the US state of Alaska after being infected with the virus, the responsible health authorities said. Since the virus was discovered in 2015, six cases had already been registered with the authorities, but all of these illnesses were mild.
The Alaskapox virus, like the monkeypox virus, is one of the orthopoxviruses and is found primarily in smaller mammals such as voles. So far, the virus is only known from Alaska – but exactly how widespread it is and exactly how it is transmitted has not yet been researched. It was also not initially clear how the man who had now died could have become infected. Authorities said he may have been infected by a stray cat.
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