Rochelle Walensky, MD, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed … [+]
Yes, children and even toddlers and infants can get monkeypox too. Just because you are smaller, are way too young to vote, and rudely yawn without covering your mouth doesn’t mean that you can’t get catch the monkeypox virus. Rochelle Walensky, MD, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has confirmed that the U.S. has had two reported cases of monkeypox in children. She did so during a recent Washington Post Live interview, seen here:
As you can see, Walensky indicated the following about these two monkeypox cases: “Both of those children are traced back to individuals who come from the men who have sex with men, the gay men’s, community. So, when we have seen those cases in children, they have generally been what I call adjacent to the community most at risk.” Adjacent means “next to” and “near” something, as in you are adjacent to a large sheet cake, which, in turn, may be adjacent to and then in your stomach soon. Being very near someone who is infected with the virus is how you can catch the virus.
Monkeypox virus transmission can occur via contact with body fluids such as large respiratory droplets that contain the virus or direct contact with monkeypox lesions. So it’s not a good idea to tell people, “if you happen to have any rashes, bumps, fluid-filled vesicles, pus-filled pustules, or scabs, please let me know so that I can touch them.” Also, don’t trade blanket scarves, distressed jeans, velour tracks suits, or any other type of clothing or bedding with someone infected with the virus as they may have contaminated any objects, surfaces, or other materials they have touched.
These cases are a reminder that the monkeypox virus ain’t like many humans in that the virus doesn’t discriminate based on age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other demographic background. The virus doesn’t get all judgy and say, “I’m not going to infect you because you’re not my type.” Instead, if the virus can get into your body through your nose, your mouth, or breaks in your skin, including microscopic ones, it can infect you.
Meredith Deliso reported for ABC News that one of the cases was a toddler in California and the other was a non-U.S. resident infant, who was “transiting through” Washington, D.C. when the infant tested positive, as described by Captain Jennifer McQuiston, DVM, MS, Deputy Director of the CDC’s Division of the High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, during a press briefing on Friday. Now, “transiting through” may sound like the infant was driving a dune buggy, but it simply means that the infant was not living permanently in Washington, DC, at the time. The CDC has not revealed which country this infant usually resides in when not traveling.
Whenever such young children do get infected with a potentially life-threatening-disease-causing virus, a major concern is whether they’ll be at higher risk for more severe outcomes like death, which is a pretty darn severe outcome. After all, the immune systems of infants may not have had the chance to fully mature yet. At birth, an infant’s immune system is still learning and developing sort of like a person who has accidentally entered a dance club for the first time. An infant’s immune system may get confused and not be able to recognize danger early enough. Walensky did add that, “importantly those children are doing well.” Both children are reportedly getting TPOXX, which is the brand name for the antiviral tecovirimat.
These two cases contribute to the 2,891 monkeypox cases that have been confirmed in the U.S. as of July 22, 2022, according to the CDC. So far New York has been the state with the most case with 900 confirmed. That’s been followed by California with 356, Florida with 247, Illinois with 238, and Georgia with 211. The growing number of cases show that the outbreak is still far from being contained.
In fact, on Saturday, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the WHO has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). What the PHEIC does this mean? Well, this is the WHO’s highest level of alert and should lead to more effort and resources being allocated to coordinate the global response to the outbreak. With both the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the monkeypox outbreak, the world has two PHEICs on its hands.
Of course, Covid-19 and monkeypox are two different problems to be handled in two different ways. There’s been no call to mass vaccinate everyone against monkeypox to date although people at particularly high risk for being exposed to the virus may want to get vaccinated. If you care for kids of any age (meaning take care of them), the main thing you should do it to keep them away from those who may be infected. This applies to adults as well. Public health authorities ain’t just kidding around when they emphasize that the virus can infect anyone who comes in close contact with some who is already infected.
