The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported on July 22 that they have detected two cases of monkeypox in children for the first time.
In a statement, the CDC indicated that one of the infected minors is a California resident for less than two years, while the other was in the US, but does not usually reside in the country.
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Health officials indicated that both cases are related and that it is most likely that the children were infected at home by transmission from a family member.
Both have symptoms but are in good health and receiving treatment.
Monkeypox does not spread easily between humans: infection occurs through close contact with infected skin, body fluids, or respiratory droplets from an infected person with whom you have sexual intercourse.
It is a different virus from smallpox and it is being transmitted outside its usual endemic area (Central and West Africa), so it is necessary to exercise strict epidemiological control over it.
A person is considered contagious from the onset of the enanthema – oral mucosal lesions – until the lesions heal and a new layer of skin forms.
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For this reason, infected people should remain isolated until all skin lesions have healed, and especially avoid close contact with immunosuppressed people.
The incubation period can range from 5 to 21 days, and the clinical picture usually begins with a combination of symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, characteristic skin lesions, and swollen glands.
Regarding its severity, epidemiologists point out that the cases of the current outbreak are milder than those described in West Africa, and that they are hardly generating hospital admissions. However, remember, lesions on the skin and mucous membranes are very annoying.
