An elderly man has died from Alaskapox, the first known fatality from the recently discovered virus, Alaskan state health officials have said.

The man, who lived in the remote Kenai Peninsula, was hospitalised in November last year and died in late January, according to a bulletin issued last week by public health officials.

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.