Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link

Volume 32, Number 5—May 2026

Etymologia

Borealpox [bōr′-ē-әl-poks]

On This Page
Etymologia
Cite This Article
Downloads
Article
RIS [TXT - 2 KB]
Article Metrics
Metric Details
Author affiliation: Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

Cite This Article
Citation for Media

The emerging borealpox virus causes zoonotic borealpox disease, characterized by dermal lesions, in humans. From the Latin adjective borealis, which refers to Boreas (βορέας), the Greek god of the north wind, boreal has indicated northern origin since the 15th Century.

The orthopoxvirus isolate AK2015_poxvirus was isolated from a resident of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, in 2015, and initially dubbed Alaskapox virus after complete genome sequence analysis revealed a novel species similar to Old World orthopoxviruses. Seven human cases, including 1 fatal case, preceded renaming to borealpox virus. Boreal references the taiga, a subarctic coniferous forest ecosystem where case-patients and likely small mammal virus reservoirs resided.

Top

References

  1. Gigante  CM, Gao  J, Tang  S, McCollum  AM, Wilkins  K, Reynolds  MG, et al. Genome of Alaskapox virus, a novel orthopoxvirus isolated from Alaska. Viruses. 2019;11:708. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Mooring  EQ, Rogers  J, Whitehill  F, Werle  Z, Gigante  CM, Matheny  A, et al. Six cases of borealpox and evidence of a zoonotic source—Alaska, 2020–2023. Clin Infect Dis. 2025;•••: Epub ahead of print. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Oxford English Dictionary. Boreal [cited 2024 Sept 12]. DOIGoogle Scholar
  4. Rogers  JH, Westley  B, Mego  T, Newell  KG, Laurance  J, Smith  L, et al. Fatal borealpox in an immunosuppressed patient treated with antivirals and vaccinia immunoglobulin—Alaska, 2023. Clin Infect Dis. 2025;80:1053–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Springer  YP, Hsu  CH, Werle  ZR, Olson  LE, Cooper  MP, Castrodale  LJ, et al. Novel orthopoxvirus infection in an Alaska resident. Clin Infect Dis. 2017;64:1737–41. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

Top

Cite This Article

DOI: 10.3201/eid3205.241377

Original Publication Date: April 27, 2026

Related Links

Top

Table of Contents – Volume 32, Number 5—May 2026

EID Search Options
presentation_01 Advanced Article Search – Search articles by author and/or keyword.
presentation_01 Articles by Country Search – Search articles by the topic country.
presentation_01 Article Type Search – Search articles by article type and issue.

Top

Comments

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

JJ L. Miranda, Department of Biology, Barnard College, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA

Send To

10000 character(s) remaining.

Top

Page created: April 13, 2026
Page updated: May 07, 2026
Page reviewed: May 07, 2026
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external