US Reports First Cases Of Monkeypox In Children As Two Detected With Viral Disease

Over 15,000 cases have been reported in non-endemic countries including US.

The children are under treatment and have been described to be in good health. (Representational Image)

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New Delhi: Monkeypox cases have been detected in two children in the United States for the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informed on Friday, according to the news agency AP. The report stated that one is a toddler from California and the other is an infant who isn’t a US resident but was tested in Washington D.C.

The two cases are unrelated and the authorities are investigating how the children caught the viral disease. Officials believe the cases are a result of household transmission. The children are under treatment and have been described to be in good health, reported AP.

Monkeypox is a viral infection, which was until most recently endemic in parts of Africa. A recent outbreak of cases has affected various countries including the US and European countries. There have been over 15,000 reported cases in these countries that historically don’t see the disease. A vast majority of cases are reported in men who have sex with men, however, health authorities have stressed that anyone can catch the virus. 

“I don’t think it's surprising that we are occasionally going to see cases outside that social network," CDC’s Jennifer McQuiston told reporters Friday, AP reported.

According to the report, health officials said that along with the two paediatric cases, they were aware of at least eight women among the 2800 cases reported in the US. 

Meanwhile, in Europe, at least six monkeypox cases have been reported among kids 17 years old and younger. In the Netherlands, a boy was admitted to an Amsterdam hospital with about 20 red bumps, it was reported to be Moneypox but the doctors couldn’t determine how he got it, as per the AP report. 

It is common in Africa for children to catch Monkeypox. Most severe cases and deaths are reported in kids.

Three cases of Monkeypox have been confirmed in India so far, all three cases are reported from Kerala.