The world's first person died from a new virus after contact with a cat. What is known about Alaskan smallpox?

The first person in the world died from the new Alaskapox virus (AKPV) on the Kenai Peninsula in the United States. The Alaska Department of Health announced the man's death on Friday, February 9.

It is noted that the American had a weakened immune system due to cancer treatment. He lived alone in a forested area and was in contact with a stray cat, which he said regularly scratched him and preyed on small mammals. The animal tested negative for AKPV.

The AKPV virus was first discovered in 2015

The Alaskapox virus was discovered in the state in 2015, and its symptoms are similar to those of smallpox. Alaskan smallpox infections were confirmed in only six people, all of them were recorded in the Fairbanks area in central Alaska. All infections occurred as a result of contact with animals.

According to epidemiologist Dr. Julia Rogers, animals are primarily infected with the virus. She expects cases of AKPV infection to be rare and deaths among people who are immunocompromised from it are unlikely. The expert believes that the virus is most likely transmitted through direct contact with an infected animal. At the same time, Rogers emphasized that there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

Epidemiologists do not know how people become infected

Local authorities tested small mammals for the presence of AKPV and found the virus mainly in red-backed voles and squirrels. Because there are so few cases of infection, epidemiologists don't know exactly how people can become infected with Alaskan smallpox.

However, the strain of AKPV found in a man on the Kenai Peninsula is different from the strain found in people and animals in interior Alaska. Health department officials believe this may indicate the virus is more widespread in Alaska than previously thought and are working with the University of Alaska Museum and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to test small mammals for AKPV outside central areas. areas of the state.

Dr Ben Westley, an infectious disease specialist, warned that symptoms of Alaskapox could include a rash and swollen lymph nodes.

The world is talking about the onset of a new “disease X”

In January, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, gave a speech at a meeting of the Davos Forum on the issue of the Pandemic Agreement, which he called for to be concluded in order to better prepare for “disease X”.

At the same time, he clarified the real meaning of this term, emphasizing that we are not talking about any specific disease: “Disease X is a designation for any unknown disease. We have been using it since 2018.”

Rospotrebnadzor also reported that the WHO statement was about the development of a new international agreement to combat pandemics, which should be completed by May 2024.

The head of the department, Anna Popova, added that the discussion at the WEF of the so-called “disease X” is the usual routine work of experts. She explained that specialists need to calculate all possible scenarios for any virus. Popova emphasized that the term “disease X” has been around for many years, and no one knows the properties and parameters that characterize it.