Written by by Leslie Eastman at legalinsurrection.com
Alaska health officials reported the state’s first fatal case of Alaskapox, which is a recently discovered virus-caused disease.
An elderly man who lived on his own in rural Alaska is the first casualty of ‘Alaskapox’ – a rare disease identified only nine years ago.
The unidentified, immunocompromised man died in late January weeks after he became the seventh person to ever contract the virus while living in Kenai Peninsula.
As of Sunday, it’s still unclear how he contracted it – though the fact that he did confirms it has spread beyond local wildlife populations and into local communities.
Already a cancer patient, the man first reported signs of infection in September, citing a tender lesion that appeared near his armpit. The infection worsened, and after six weeks of emergency visits from state officials, he was hospitalized locally.
The Alaskapox virus was discovered less than 10 years ago. Infections are rare, and cases of the disease are usually mild.