Alaskapox virus | |
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Virus classification | |
(unranked): | Virus |
Realm: | Varidnaviria |
Kingdom: | Bamfordvirae |
Phylum: | Nucleocytoviricota |
Class: | Pokkesviricetes |
Order: | Chitovirales |
Family: | Poxviridae |
Genus: | Orthopoxvirus |
Species: | Alaskapox virus
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Alaskapox virus is a species of the Orthopoxvirus genus, first documented in 2015 in the United States state of Alaska.[1] As of 2022, there are four reported cases of illness caused by the virus, all of which occurred in Fairbanks North Star Borough, with none resulting in hospitalization or death.[2]
In July 2015, a woman visited a clinic in Fairbanks, Alaska, with lesions that were confirmed to contain an Orthopox virus but did not match any known members of the genus.[1] Subsequent genetic analysis established that the woman, who recovered, had been infected with a novel Orthopox virus.[1] The name Alaskapox virus was proposed after full analysis of its genome was published in 2019.[3]
In 2020, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced the second known infection of Alaskapox in another Fairbanks woman.[4] Two additional cases were identified in the Fairbanks area in the summer of 2021.[5] All four known cases were mild, not requiring hospitalization.[5]
All known cases have occurred in Fairbanks North Star Borough, but it is possible that other infections have occurred elsewhere.[2]
In the identified cases, Alaskapox virus causes small lesions on the skin that heal after a few weeks, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services,[2] but the first known patient indicated the lesion took six months to fully resolve.[1] Other reported symptoms include joint or muscle pain and swollen lymph nodes.[2]
Transmission of the virus to humans is hypothesized to be via small animals,[5][6] though it is not yet clear specifically how this occurs.[2] As of 2021, there was not established evidence of transmission among humans.[5]