A man dies after being infected with the new Alaskan smallpox virus

An elderly man with a weakened immune system was recently confirmed to have died after contracting Alaska smallpox Anchorage Daily News. State health officials said the deadly case, which took months to diagnose, is significant because smallpox in Alaska had previously caused only mild infections.

It is also important because the case was reported outside of the Fairbanks area of ​​Alaska for the first time.

The man noticed a painful red lump in his armpit in September and was prescribed antibiotics after seeking care several times over a six-week period. By mid-November, his symptoms had grown to include fatigue and pain.

“People don't need to be worried.”

He was hospitalized on the Kenai Peninsula and then transferred to Anchorage, Alaska. The man began to improve after about a week of treatment with intravenous medications, but died in late January after suffering kidney failure and other systemic deterioration, according to a report published by the Center for Medicine. Alaska Department of Health.

Health officials say the newly discovered virus was first identified in 2015 and is linked to monkeypox, now called mpox, and chicken pox.

– People shouldn't necessarily be worried, they should be more aware, says Julia Rogers, state epidemiologist. New York PostAnd he continues:

So we hope to make doctors more aware of what the Alaskan bug virus is, so they can recognize the signs and symptoms.