What we know about Alaskapox, a mysterious virus that just claimed its first fatality

After monkeypox (or monkeypox), it is the turn of a new virus with a strange name to take the top spot in the “health” section of the American media. Alaskapox — also known as AKPV or “Alaskan smallpox” — claimed its first fatality in the Atlantic in late January.

According to a press release from US state health authorities issued on February 9, the deceased was an elderly man (his exact age was not specified) who was immunocompromised and undergoing cancer treatment. “This is the first case of severe Alaskapox infection resulting in hospitalization and death”Refers to bulletins.

Hospitalized on November 17

According to Alaska health officials, the deceased patient first experienced strange symptoms in September 2023. “By mid September 2023”Kenai Peninsula man especially noticed “A red and painful papule under her right armpit.”. He then visited his doctor and local emergency services without any signs of bacterial infection.

“Despite treatment with antibiotics, the patient experienced increasing fatigue, increased hardness (of his papule), and increased pain in his right shoulder”, we read in the February 9 bulletin. He was finally admitted to the hospital on November 17 “Due to significant progression of infectious cellulitis which affected the range of motion of his right arm”.

After an extensive battery of tests, the man finally tested positive for AKPV. “Despite numerous treatments”Elderly patient suffering “Malnutrition, Acute Renal Failure and Respiratory Failure”. He finally died in late January 2024.

Seven cases in nine years

This is the first official death due to Alaskapox. First discovered in 2015 in a woman living in Fairbanks, Alaska, the virus is part of the orthopoxvirus family — similar to monkeypox. In nine years, the country’s authorities have reported only seven cases (none were in Europe).

The main symptoms caused by this virus include one or more skin rashes – always in the form of bumps or pustules – swollen lymph nodes and joint or muscle pain. ” Many Alaskapox patients initially think they have a spider or insect bite. Almost all patients had a mild illness that resolved spontaneously within a few weeks.”Alaska health officials also noted in their press release.

So the death of an elderly patient is the first to raise questions, even if the authorities admit, “The patient’s immunosuppression probably contributes to the severity of the disease”.

A zoonotic disease?

For the moment, the mode of transmission of this disease is still uncertain. “Researchers say it may be zoonotic, meaning an infectious disease spread to humans by animals or insects”Note Parisian .

Clues to the elderly patient’s death in January also point to a stray cat that the man may have taken in. “The man said he recently took care of a stray cat at his home”, specifies daily. But the cat tested negative for the virus. On the other hand, he “Regularly preys on small mammals and repeatedly scratches the patient”suggesting that the cat had the virus on its paw when it scratched the human.

Thanks to two series of tests conducted in 2020 and 2021, the presence of the Alaskapox virus was confirmed in two species: red-backed voles and shrews. In total, four species will be affected.

No cases of transmission of the virus to humans have also been documented. “There is no reason to panic, especially since we are in the range of viruses that we know”Conclusion, in the columns of 20 minutes Benjamin Davido, an infectious disease doctor at the Raymond Poincaré Hospital in Garches.