The US confirms the first cases of Monkeypox virus in children
New Delhi: The US Health Authority on Friday confirmed that cases of monkeypox have been identified in the United States for the first time in children – a toddler in California and an infant who is not a US resident. The agency said the children were in good health and being treated.
On Friday, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a statement said, “The two cases of the viral disease were unrelated and were likely the result of household transmission.”
So far this year, there have been more than 14,000 cases of monkeypox in more than 60 countries and five deaths in Africa.
The White House Covid-19 response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, speaking on the same call, said the government had delivered 300,000 doses of a monkeypox vaccine and was working to expedite the shipment from Denmark of 786,000 more doses.
Dr. Ashish Jha further added that there was already enough vaccine on hand to provide a first vaccine dose to more than half of the eligible population in New York City and more than 70 percent of the eligible population in Washington DC. The US was still evaluating whether the monkeypox outbreak should be declared a public health emergency.
The fatality rate in previous outbreaks in Africa of the current strain has been about 1%, but so far this outbreak seems to be less lethal in the non-endemic countries. However, a number of patients have reported being hospitalised for severe pain.
(Vinayak)
