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A person who works at an Illinois daycare center has tested positive for monkeypox and potentially exposed children are at higher risk of severe outcomes from the virus, state officials said Friday.
Officials screen children and others who have been potentially exposed to symptoms, and the Food and Drug Administration allows children to receive Jynneos vaccine, which is only approved for adults. The vaccine can prevent infection or reduce the severity of symptoms after exposure.
What you need to know about monkeypox symptoms, treatment and protection
Authorities said no one else has tested positive and did not say how many people had been exposed to the virus, which spreads through close contact with an infected person and is not airborne. State officials said the day care worker was also employed by a home health facility and that they were in contact with the affected client.
“All available state, local and federal resources are being used to assist families,” Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said at a news conference.
He applauded federal regulators for allowing the rapid vaccination of exposed children with their parents’ approval and “without jumping through the normal hoops in the process.”
Federal officials have confirmed more than 7,500 cases of monkeypox in the United States, predominantly among gay and bisexual men. At least five children have confirmed cases of monkeypox, believed to be the result of transmission from the home, according to federal officials.
The case of the Illinois babysitter has intensified concern among public health authorities, who worry that the outbreak will spread more widely and affect populations more vulnerable to severe outcomes — including children — if left unchecked, especially as students return to schools and colleges this fall.
Illnesses from monkeypox usually resolve after a few weeks, and there are no known fatal cases in the United States. But in children and people with weak immune systems, the disease can lead to severe medical complications and has had a higher death rate in young children in past outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization.
Ask the Post: What are your questions about monkeypox?
Public health officials are trying to convey a nuanced message that sexually active gay men face the greatest risk of contracting monkeypox because it is currently spread through close, often skin-to-skin contact, mostly among men who have sex with men. But officials warn that viruses don’t always stick to one demographic and can infect anyone.
“An infection anywhere is potentially an infection anywhere,” said Anne Rimoane, a UCLA epidemiologist who has studied the monkeypox outbreak and praised officials’ efforts to quickly make vaccines available to people exposed to the infection in Illinois. “The more cases we see, the more opportunities for spread we see — and the more likely these scenarios are to exist.”
Although monkeypox infections can incubate for weeks, Rimoane also stressed that people exposed to the Illinois day laborer do not necessarily have to test positive. “Household contacts don’t always get monkeypox – it’s not as transmissible as the coronavirus,” she said.
The CDC recommends fewer sexual partners to reduce exposure to monkeypox
Although monkeypox in the current outbreak is primarily spread through close contact during sex among gay and bisexual men, global health authorities warn that it can be spread in other ways that usually involve prolonged contact, such as hugging, kissing and dancing without clothes. Potential sources of spread in children include prolonged holding, cuddling, and feeding, as well as through shared objects such as towels, bedding, cups, and utensils.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a health advisory to clinicians, warning them to be on the lookout for symptoms of the virus among other vulnerable populations, including children and adolescents. To prevent the virus from spreading between children and their caregivers or household members, officials recommend avoiding contact with infected people and their clothing, towels and bedding.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Monday declared monkeypox a public health emergency, saying the move would improve coordination among state agencies and speed up Illinois’ response to the virus. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra subsequently declared a national public health emergency over monkeypox, a move Biden administration officials said would unlock new funding and powers that could help contain the virus and end the epidemic in the United States.
In the Illinois case, the day laborer with monkeypox is in isolation and in good condition, officials said. Families of potentially exposed children have been offered mobile testing and financial assistance for isolation if needed, authorities said.
“Anyone who has even a slight suspicion, we will put them in isolation pending any results,” said Julie Pride, administrator of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.
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