Advertisement
At least four children in the US have now tested positive for monkeypox, officials have confirmed.
Amid a growing number of cases across the country, Indiana state officials confirmed late last week that two children had tested positive for monkeypox. No additional information was provided at this time due to patient privacy concerns, the Indiana Department of Health wrote in a statement.
“Like many other states, Indiana has seen an increase in cases of monkeypox over the past month,” said state health commissioner Dr. Kris Box in a statement.
Federal officials had previously confirmed last month that two more children in the US had tested positive for monkeypox.
One case has been confirmed in an infant who is a California resident and the other has been reported in a non-US resident infant who was tested while traveling through Washington, DC. and were probably the result of a household transfer.
Although there is no information on the current status of Indiana’s virus-positive children, the other two children who were diagnosed with monkeypox were said to be in good health.
However, health officials are concerned about how monkeypox could affect young children.
Over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert warning that there is some preliminary evidence that children under the age of 8 could develop a more serious illness if they contract monkeypox.
Epidemiologist Ryan Chatelain conducts monkeypox disease training for Salt Lake County Health Department health investigators on July 29, 2022 in Salt Lake City.
Rick Bowmer/AP
At this point, the majority of monkey cases confirmed in the current domestic and global outbreak have been found in gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men. However, health officials have repeatedly emphasized that the virus is non-discriminatory and anyone exposed to monkeypox can contract the virus.
People are most commonly infected through close person-to-person contact, including intimate contact, although it’s possible for the disease to also spread through respiratory secretions or by “touching objects, fabrics (clothing, linens, or towels), and surfaces of someone with.” monkeypox were used,” according to the CDC.
The news of more pediatric monkeypox cases comes amid mounting pressure from officials across the country on the US to declare a public health outbreak.
On Monday, Illinois became the second state in the country to declare monkeypox a public health emergency, thereby declaring Illinois a “disaster area” for the virus, Gov. JB Pritzker announced in a news release.
“[Monkeypox virus] is a rare but potentially serious disease that requires the full mobilization of all available public health resources to prevent its spread,” Pritzker wrote in a statement. “That’s why I’m declaring a state of emergency to ensure smooth coordination between state agencies and all levels of government to improve our ability to prevent and treat the disease quickly.”
The governor’s statement will allow the Illinois Department of Health to expand access to resources like vaccines and testing in the state’s effort to control the virus.
“We have seen this virus disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community in its initial spread. Here in Illinois, we will ensure our LGBTQ+ community has the resources they need to stay safe while ensuring members are not stigmatized for being given access to critical health care,” Pritzker added.
Last week, New York became the first state to declare monkeypox a “disaster emergency,” with officials calling New York City the “epicenter of the outbreak.”
Across the country, officials in San Francisco have also instituted a local emergency declaration for monkeypox.
More than 22,000 cases have been reported worldwide, including nearly 5,200 cases reported in the United States, according to the CDC.
Monkeypox cases have now been reported in almost every state in the country, with Montana, Vermont and Wyoming now being the only states yet to confirm cases.
