What do we know about Alaskapox, this little-known virus that caused the first death in the United States?
One person recently died in Alaska, United States, after contracting Alaskapox, a virus discovered in 2015 that previously caused only relatively mild symptoms and no complications. How is it transmitted, what are the symptoms and should we fear more cases? France takes 24 stocks.
Published on:
5 minutes
The virus has been known to health officials in Alaska for nine years, but a recent case that resulted in the death of one person in the US state in late January has drawn renewed attention to the virus. Alaskapox.
“This is the first case of severe Alaskapox infection leading to hospitalization and death,” the Alaska State Epidemiological Division announced Friday, February 9.
The virus was first identified in 2015 “in adults living near Fairbanks (a city in the center of the state),” the health official explained.
- What is Alaskapox? ?
Also known as AKPV, Alaskapox belongs to a family of viruses called orthopoxviruses that can infect animals as well as humans. The virus causes lesions – papules – on the skin. Each has its own characteristics and some are considered more dangerous than others.
Among the orthopoxviruses, smallpox (pox in English) is the most famous, but its cousins, camel pox, cow pox, horse pox, and monkey pox (monkeypox, today called mpox) also cause debate.
Also readMonkey Pox: Beyond Physical Symptoms, Psychological Effects
- How is the virus transmitted? ?
Like smallpox, Alaskapox is a disease caused by a double-stranded DNA virus, many of which are zoonotic, meaning an infectious disease transmitted to humans by animals or insects.
It is found primarily in small mammals, including red-backed voles and skunks. But pets, such as dogs and cats, can also carry the virus, Alaska health officials say. The latter clarifies that they have not observed any transmission of the virus from one person to another, at this stage.
However, as a precaution, they advise anyone with an Alaskapox lesion to cover it with a bandage. Alaskans are also recommended to follow wildlife guidelines from the CDC to prevent possible AKPV infection.
A total of seven people – all in Alaska – have been infected with it in the past nine years.
The first – and only – death reported to date is that of an elderly man, who was treated for cancer and whose immune system was weakened by drugs.
Living in a wilderness area on the Kenai Peninsula, “he reported no recent travel, illness, or close contact with similar injuries,” his health report states. On the other hand, he revealed that he was scratched several times by a stray cat hunting small animals. The cat in question, however, tested negative for Alaskapox.
- What are the symptoms? ?
People with Alaskapox develop one or more lesions on the skin, along with joint or muscle pain and swollen lymph nodes.
The above victim reported last September that a red papule appeared where a stray cat had scratched him a month earlier (under the armpit) and during the following two months he consulted a doctor due to fatigue, loss of mobility in his hands. and neurological pain.
In mid-November he was hospitalized in Anchorage where he was diagnosed with muscle inflammation (myositis) affecting his armpits and shoulders.
As other papules appeared on her body, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed the presence of Alaskapox in a sample taken from the patient in December. Despite treatment and short-term improvement, the patient, who presented with delayed healing, signs of malnutrition, acute renal failure and respiratory failure, died in late January, according to a bulletin published Feb. 9 by those responsible for Alaska Public Health.
Almost all other patients had mild symptoms that resolved spontaneously after a few weeks. People with weakened immune systems, however, may be exposed to a more severe form of the disease.
- Is there a risk of spreading this virus? ?
Contrary to concerns expressed last December for monkeypox, the WHO does not fear a global spread of Alaskapox, especially given that no cases of transmission between humans have yet been reported.
Especially since “Alaska is one of the least populated states in the United States, a semi-island area with a very specific ecosystem,” said Benjamin Davido, an infectious disease doctor at the Raymond Poincaré Hospital in Garches, whose comments were collected by 20. minute
The latter, however, questioned the possibility that the respiratory form of the virus could cause droplet transmission, and therefore be transmitted between humans. But he reassures: “If there were secondary cases, for example, in the congregation, we would have seen them since November.”
(TagsToTranslate)Americas
