First cases of monkeypox in children detected in US

The health officials said that the toddler belongs to California and the infected-infant is not a US resident but was tested positive in Washington, DC. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the children are in good health and are being treat against the disease.

According to CDC, the two cases are unrelated and they are positive through household transmission, however, the actual cause is being investigated. The officials have not revealed the other details yet.

This year, more than 15,000 monkeypox cases have been reported in countries that previously don’t see the disease. Monkeypox, an endemic in Africa, has spread majorly in men who have sex with men, however, the health officials said that anyone can catch the virus now.

They further informed that the health officials were aware of at least eight women among the more than 2,800 US monkeypox cases reported so far. 

Speaking about the spread of virus, Jennifer McQuiston said, “According to me, it’s not surprising that people are occasionally going to witness such cases.”

Meanwhile, Dr James Lawler, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center informed that the infection can also happen in homes through prolonged or intensive contact like via towels, bedding, or any other kind of close contact.

 “Usually people don’t crawl on each other’s beds unless they are living in the same house or family,” he said.

The agency informed that at least six children who are 17 years old or younger have been confirmed positive for monkeypox infection in Europe.

In Netherlands, doctors also published a report of a boy at an Amsterdam hospital who had about 20-red brown bumps on his body, which later confirmed as monkeypox viral disease. The doctors said that they could not figure out how he caught the infection.

On the other hand, monkeypox infection have been seen more common in children in Africa and doctors witnessed the higher proportion of severe cases and deaths in young children caused by this viral infection.

(With agencies inputs)

First article