New outbreak of mpox in Anchorage prompts advisory from state health officials

Key Points:

• Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, has reported four new cases of mpox, a rare viral disease formerly known as monkeypox, marking the highest annual number of cases since 2022; none of the patients had traveled outside the state prior to infection.
• The current mpox outbreak aligns with a national increase in cases, with the virus now circulating as clade I, a genetically different and seemingly less deadly strain than the clade II virus responsible for the 2022 global outbreak.
• Mpox spreads through close contact, and Alaska health officials recommend vaccination with the JYNNEOS vaccine, which protects against both clades of mpox and smallpox, particularly for high-risk groups such as men who have sex with men and healthcare workers.
• In addition to mpox, Alaska has reported two mild cases of borealpox, a related but rarer poxvirus first identified in 2015, bringing the total global borealpox cases to nine; unlike mpox, there is currently no vaccine for borealpox, though research is ongoing.
• Borealpox is believed to circulate among small mammals like red-backed voles, with transmission linked to household pets exposed to these animals, and one recent fatal case in a Kenai Peninsula man with a weakened immune system was caused by a genetically different strain of the virus.