Alaska health officials are reporting the state's first known death from a virus called Alaskapox—an illness primarily found in small mammals that have recently shown up in humans. An elderly man from the Kenai Peninsula, without recent travel history or known exposure from close contacts, succumbed to the infection in late January after battling with a weakened immune system due to cancer treatment, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.

Since Alaskapox's identification in 2015, a total of seven cases have been reported, with the most recent being the fatal one. The deceased patient's weakened immune system likely factored into the illness's severity, Alaska Department of Health officials are saying, noting that thus far, nearly all patients had mild illnesses that resolved on their own after a few weeks. "This is the first case of severe Alaskapox infection resulting in hospitalization and death," they released, highlighting the gravity faced by the state's first mortality linked to the virus. Dr. Joe McLaughlin, state epidemiologist, pointed this out in an interview with CNN.

The virus, part of the orthopoxvirus genus which includes cowpox and Mpox, has been most frequently identified in red-backed voles and shrews but is also likely to be more geographically widespread among Alaska's small mammal populations than previously believed, based on evidence from the case of the Kenai Peninsula patient as stated on the Alaska Department of Health website. Health officials have not, to date, reported any human-to-human transmission but urge those with skin lesions possibly caused by Alaskapox to keep the area covered with a bandage.

Alaskapox typically presents symptoms including skin lesions, resembling a spider bite at first, along with swollen lymph nodes, muscle pain, and occasional fever. As domestic pets, such as cats and dogs, may play a role in spreading the virus, the man who died was noted to have lived in a wooded area and cared for a stray cat that hunted small mammals—pointed out as a "possible source" of infection, as reported by CNN.

Treatments for people with more severe systems of Alaskapox could include antiviral and immune-globulin prescriptions, even though no evidence suggests a person with Alaskapox can spread it to others. Overall, experts maintain the risk remains limited, with Dr. McLaughlin reassuring, "There's no need for people outside of Alaska to be concerned," as he told CNN. Alaskans, however, should be aware of its possibility, keeping vigilance over their interactions with wildlife and domestic animals that encounter small mammals.