Elderly Alaska man is first reported person to die of recently discovered Alaskapox virus

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska state health officials say an elderly man has died from Alaskapox. It’s the first known fatality from the recently discovered virus. A bulletin issued last week says the man died in late January. He lived in the forest in the remote Kenai Peninsula. Alaskapox, also known as AKPV, is related to smallpox. Symptoms can include a rash, swollen lymph nodes and joint or muscle pain. Alaska health officials say only seven cases have been confirmed since 2015. All the others involved people in the Fairbanks area, 300 miles from the Kenai Peninsula. The other patients recovered without being hospitalized. But health officials says the patient who died had a compromised immune system from cancer treatments.