Amid the expanding outbreak, two monkeypox cases in children have been confirmed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The two instances are unrelated and likely the outcome of household transmission.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky initially revealed the incidents in a Washington Post Live interview. The director added that the children “are doing well” and that the pediatric cases have been linked to men who have sex with men.
One of the toddlers lives in California, and the other is an infant who is a non-U.S resident, according to officials. At this time, the CDC is not disclosing the infant’s country of origin.
Despite having monkeypox symptoms, both kids are currently healthy and receiving TPOXX, a smallpox treatment that the Food and Drug Administration has licensed.
Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of the High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, stated the agency learned about the cases last week.
“We’ve been working with the jurisdictions to understand more about these cases,” she added. “The investigations are still in the early phase and ongoing so we don’t have a lot of details on them.”
Symptomatic individuals spread monkeypox through close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory secretions, and items that have come into contact with lesion crusts or bodily fluids (e.g., contaminated linens, bandages, dishes).
Children under the age of 8, pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, and people with a history of atopic dermatitis or eczema may be at an elevated risk for serious results from monkeypox disease, according to the CDC.
As of July 25, there were over 2,800 monkeypox cases in the United States.
The Dallas Express previously reported that there are currently 183 monkeypox cases in Texas, with 89 of those existing in the North Texas region. The top five hotspots, according to the CDC, are New York (900), California (356), Illinois (238), Florida (247), and Georgia (211).