State reports first known fatal case of Alaskapox

State health officials this week reported the first known fatal case of Alaskapox in an immunocompromised Kenai Peninsula man who was undergoing treatment in Anchorage when he died in late January. Health officials say the recently discovered species of the double-stranded-DNA virus first identified in Alaska in 2015 comes from the same genus as smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox. It occurs mostly in small mammals like voles and shrews. The man is one of seven reported Alaskapox infections to date, according to an Alaska Section of Epidemiology bulletin released Friday that...