**Previous Episode: [[BDE288]]** **Next Episode: [[BDE290]]** %%Post image thumbnail below.%%  > [!abstract|no-i] **Episode Overview** > - **Date Aired:** [[02-13-2024]] > - **Title:** Looking for Alaskapox > - **Episode:** 289 > - **Description:** Alternate title - Cat Scratch Fever > - **Link:** https://rumble.com/v4d9cq0-big-dig-energy-289-looking-for-alaskapox.html %%<https://historydraft.com/happened/what-happened/1-January/world>%% ## Replay %% Get embed URL then highlight and hit ALT + I%% <iframe src="https://rumble.com/embed/v4ao2mr/?pub=6eeyh" allow="fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" style="height:100%;width:100%; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; "></iframe> <br> ## Greetings & Announcements 1. Happy birthday Mr. Sophocles! ## Segments ### Media Layoffs [Link](https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1757538010718191679)  ### Alaskapox Health officials in Alaska have identified the first known death linked to a recently discovered virus called Alaskapox. Since its discovery in 2015, seven Alaskapox infections have been reported, according to the state Department of Health. The most recent case was identified in an elderly man who died last month. “This is the first case of severe Alaskapox infection resulting in hospitalization and death,” the health department said in a release last week. From February 9th: <div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 60%;"><iframe src="https://docs.google.com/viewer?embedded=true&url=https://epi.alaska.gov/bulletins/docs/b2024_02.pdf" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> > Fatal Alaskapox Infection in a Southcentral Alaska Resident > > The patient resided alone in a forested area and reported no recent travel and no close contacts with recent travel, illness, or similar lesions. He reported caring for a stray cat at his residence that regularly hunted small mammals and frequently scratched the patient, including one notable scratch near his right axilla in the month prior to rash onset. The patient did not report other recent contact with small mammals but did report gardening in his backyard through September 2023. Serum and mucosal swabs collected from the stray cat were submitted to CDC for antibody and orthopoxvirus testing; all tests were negative. > > This is the first case of severe Alaskapox infection resulting in hospitalization and death. The patient’s immunocompromised status likely contributed to illness severity. Moreover, being the first case of Alaskapox identified outside of the Interior region, it indicates that AKPV appears to be more geographically widespread in Alaska’s small mammals than previously known and warrants increased statewide awareness among clinicians. The route of exposure in this case remains unclear, although scratches from the stray cat represent a possible source of inoculation through fomite transmission. SOE is working with the University of Alaska Museum and CDC to test small mammals for AKPV outside of the Interior region. [Link](https://ia601308.us.archive.org/5/items/cix219/cix219.pdf)  ### World Governments Summit  [Link to Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MsFP8DuWZg) <iframe title="World Government Summit | 10 Years" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2MsFP8DuWZg?feature=oembed" height="113" width="200" style="aspect-ratio: 1.78041 / 1; width: 100%; height: 100%;" allowfullscreen="" allow="fullscreen"></iframe> Link to Site: https://www.worldgovernmentsummit.org/events/2024 %%Footer Starts Here%% --- <center><img src="https://archive.is/do5ay/df25cfff93575f174c387ac9f4c64744da0fadb9.png" alt="Keep digging!" height="100px"></center> --- ## Tags ### Linked Pages & Footnotes