Monkeypox was diagnosed this week in two children in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday evening.
These are the first two confirmed cases in children in the country.
Monkeypox symptoms usually come with high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and rashes. Rarely fatal, the infection usually clears up after a few weeks.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the majority of reported cases concern men who have sex with men, but not exclusively. Anyone who has had high-risk unprotected contact with an infected person can also become infected.
In total, more than 2,800 cases of monkeypox have already been confirmed in the United States.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is due to announce on Saturday whether an international public health emergency will be declared, the health agency’s highest level of alert.
