The man was undergoing cancer treatment and had a suppressed immune system because of the drugs, which may have contributed to the severity of his illness, the bulletin said. It described him as elderly but didn’t provide his age.
Alaskapox, also known as AKPV, is related to smallpox, cowpox and mpox, health officials said. Symptoms can include a rash, swollen lymph nodes and joint or muscle pain.
Only six other cases of the virus have been reported to Alaska health officials since the first one in 2015. All involved people were living in the Fairbanks area, more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) from the Kenai Peninsula, health officials said.
The man said he had cared for a stray cat at his home, the bulletin said.
The cat tested negative for the virus but it “regularly hunted small mammals and frequently scratched the patient,” the bulletin said.
If a cat was frequently scratching me, I might just leave it alone. Getting scratched by stray cats is a bad idea.
Where’s Ted Nugent when you need him
In a “news” studio screaming bigotry about democrats and minorities, probably 🤷
