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Two children in USA infected with monkeypox, health experts confirm

United States: About two cases of monkeypox have been identified in children in the United States of America, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated on Friday.

About two cases are related and probably the result of household transmission, the CDC mentioned in the statement.

One case is a child who is a resident of California. The other one is a baby who is not a resident of the United States. Public health officials are investigating how the children were infected.

Both have the symptoms but are in good health and receiving treatment with an antiviral medication named tecovirimat or TPOXX, which the CDC recommends for children under the age of 8 because they are considered to be at higher risk from infection.

Since the monkeypox outbreak started in the month of May, the majority of the cases have happened among men who have sex with men. However, anyone can catch the virus through close skin-to-skin contact. In the case of children, the agency mentioned that this could include “holding, cuddling, feeding, as well as through shared items such as towels, bedding, cups, and utensils.”

Moreover, the CDC stated that the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine is being made available for young ones through special expanded use protocols. The agency has also developed new guidance for health care providers about identifying, treating and preventing monkeypox in children and teens.

The deputy director of the CDC’s Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Dr Jennifer McQuiston, mentioned in the statement on Friday that the cases in children were not surprising and that the US should be ready to respond to more.

She stated in the statement, “The social networks that we have as humans mean that we have contact with a lot of different people. And while this outbreak is spreading in a particular social network right now, I think we’ve messaged from the start that there could be cases that occur outside those networks and that we need to be vigilant for it and ready to respond and message about it.”

“I know that in Europe and other places where this outbreak is also expanding, they have reported cases in children, in women. And I think the same thing is happening and expected to happen here in the United States,” she highlighted.

“There is no evidence to date that we’re seeing this virus spread outside of those populations to any degree,” McQuiston mentioned.

The United States government has shipped 300,000 monkeypox vaccines to the US states as well as territories as of Friday afternoon.

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