LOCAL NEWS
Seattle Children’s Hospital confirms patient tested positive for monkeypox
Aug 29, 2022, 2:28 PM | Updated: 3:50 pm
Steven Mitchell, Project Director with The People Concern, receives the monkeypox vaccine by Jeremy Oyague, right, a registered nurse. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
A pediatric patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital has tested positive for the monkeypox virus and is currently receiving treatment at the hospital.
“When staff became concerned about monkeypox, appropriate isolation was instituted. We are currently performing contact tracing to determine whether any staff, patients, or their families were exposed,” said Madison Joseph, Senior Communications Specialist for Seattle Children’s. “Anyone who may have been exposed will be contacted. We have notified public health authorities of the case.”
At this time, children are at very low risk of contracting monkeypox in normal daily interactions, including at school, according to Seattle Children’s.
Earlier this month, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization that allows children under 18 who are at high risk of monkeypox to be vaccinated.
First recorded case of monkeypox spreading from humans to pets
Monkeypox primarily spreads through prolonged skin-to-skin contact with infected people’s lesions or bodily fluids, according to the CDC. The virus can also spread through bedding and towels contaminated by infected lesions.
The most common symptoms associated with monkeypox are swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that there is some preliminary evidence to suggest children younger than 8 years old could develop more severe illnesses if infected with monkeypox, according to the center’s health alerts.
“Parents with questions about MPV (monkeypox) should reach out to their child’s doctor for more information,” said Dr. Danielle Zerr, Medical Director of Infection Prevention at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Seattle Children’s is actively monitoring the situation.
Across the globe, more than 47,000 cases of monkeypox have now been reported, including 17,400 cases in the U.S., the most of any country, according to the CDC.
