2 cases of Monkeypox detected for the first time in children

Two cases of Monkeypox have been detected for the first time in children in the United States, US health authorities said on Friday, AP reports on Saturday.

One of the infected people is a very young child residing in California. The second infected person does not live in the United States, but was tested while in Washington DC, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Both patients are doing well and are undergoing treatment. Research is currently underway to determine how they may have been infected with the disease.

An approved vaccine

First detected in humans in 1970, Monkeypox is less dangerous and contagious than its cousin smallpox, eradicated in 1980.

Detected in early May, the unusual upsurge in Monkeypox cases outside central and western African countries where the virus is endemic has since spread across the globe, with Europe as its epicenter.

In most cases, the patients are men who have sex with men, relatively young, and living mainly in cities, according to the WHO.

On Friday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it had approved the use of a human smallpox vaccine to expand its use against the spread of Monkeypox. This vaccine is in fact already used for this purpose in several countries, including France.