As of April 2024, the Alaska Department of Health has worked in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization to change the name of this virus from Alaskapox virus to borealpox virus. The corresponding disease will be called borealpox. This name references the ecosystem where the virus was first identified in both humans and small mammal reservoirs, it is less specific than the current name and thus offers greater latitude for the possibility of the virus being identified in small mammals (and humans) outside of Alaska.

Borealpox virus is an orthopoxvirus that was first identified in a patient in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2015. Orthopoxviruses are known infect mammals, including humans, and can lead to the development of skin lesions. Since 2015, six additional cases of borealpox virus have been reported in Alaska, five of which were in persons living in the Fairbanks North Star Borough and one person was living in the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

Current evidence indicates that borealpox virus primarily occurs in small mammals. The virus has been most commonly identified in red-backed voles and shrews, based on small mammal sampling in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. However, it is likely that the virus is more widespread in Alaska's small mammal populations, and infections in humans may have occurred in other patients but were not diagnosed. Domestic pets (cats and dogs) may also play a role in spreading the virus.

To date, no human-to-human transmission of borealpox virus has been documented. However, since certain orthopoxviruses can be transmitted through direct contact with skin lesions, we recommend that people with skin lesions possibly caused by borealpox keep the affected area covered with a bandage.

Wildlife should always be enjoyed from a distance. If you are close enough that the animal changes its behavior (for example, stops eating or runs away), you are too close! Wild animals can carry diseases but not appear to be sick at all, so staying away is the safest way to enjoy viewing wildlife. Follow these simple tips to help protect your family and pets from getting diseases from wildlife.

Protect your home

• Keep windows and doors closed or screened and cover any holes or openings to prevent bats, rodents, or other wild animals from entering your home, church, school, or other buildings.
• Clean up trash around your home and keep your garbage cans closed. Garbage and trash can attract unwanted visits from wildlife.
• Do not leave food (bait) outside to attract animals to your backyard. This brings the animals closer together and close to you, and this makes it easier for disease to spread.
• Keep compost and wood piles at least 100 feet away from buildings to help reduce rodent infestations in the building.
• Make sure pets do not have access to stagnant water sources (ponds, bird baths, etc.) that are also used by wildlife.

Don’t handle wildlife

• Teach children to never handle unfamiliar animals, wild or domestic, even if they appear friendly or harmless.
• Do not touch or pick up dead animals with your bare hands. Consider calling animal control to remove any dead animals.
• Never adopt wild animals or bring them into your home. Do not try to save or rescue wild animals.
• If an animal appears sick or hurt, call animal control to help. Do not touch young animals that appear to be abandoned. Often their parents are close by waiting for you to leave before they return to their young.
• Protect wildlife in your national parks and local recreational areas by staying on trails and following visitor guidelines, including those for trash disposal.

Protect yourself from disease

• Make washing your hands a routine practice before eating or drinking and whenever you return from outside.
• Take care of bites and scratches:
  • Wash wounds well with soap and running water.
  • Contact your health care provider right away.
  • If you seek medical attention, make sure to tell them if you have had exposure to wildlife.
• Keep bugs away:
  • Use a mosquito and tick repellent when spending time outdoors.
  • Use a monthly flea and tick preventive on your pets.
• Ask your veterinarian how to protect your pets from wildlife diseases such as rabies, leptospirosis, and giardia.
• Call animal control right away if an animal, wild or domestic, is acting strangely or out of character.