Monkeypox: a first case of contaminated child in Île-de-France

Monkeypox is a contagious disease and therefore children are not immune to it. The Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency announces in a press release the first case of a child affected by Monkeypox.

A child attending primary school

The child was “taken care of and shows no signs of seriousness“according to the announcement of the ARS. It would seem that another case is to be reported in the same siblings.

For Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo, it is not surprising that the disease now affects children. “Monkeypox is transmitted through droplets of saliva, among other things. Contamination is therefore easy, especially among children. says the doctor. The ARS explains that this contagious disease can affect children in a family setting by sharing linen, cutlery…

Going up the chain of contamination

In the press release from the ARS are mentioned the measures taken in agreement with the National Education. A message has also been sent to the parents of children who are at-risk contact cases at the school attended by the sick child, where it is recommended that they:

• Monitor the possible occurrence of symptoms (fever, rash) and call 15 if necessary;
• Consult a doctor in order to have the child benefit from a vaccination if this is deemed necessary;
• In the absence of symptoms, and in the state of knowledge, there is no known risk of contagion. No measure is therefore necessary for the child (neither isolation nor adaptation of activities) nor for the other members of the family.

According to Gérald Kierzek, we must now “go up the chain of contamination to understand how this child was infected, but also go down it to determine the contact cases and this is the most difficult with children”. For the record, the virus had previously only affected adults, including a first woman recently. There are 330 cases confirmed by Santé Publique France as of June 23, including 227 in Île-de-France.