Child under 2 tests presumptive positive for monkeypox in Houston area

SAN ANTONIO – A child under two has tested presumptive positive for monkeypox in the Houston area, Harris County officials said.

According to KPRC, County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced in a press conference on Tuesday that the child has a rash but is otherwise asymptomatic.

The child was not in daycare or school and health officials are still identifying how the virus was transmitted.

Hidalgo said all direct contacts with the child are being offered the vaccine, KPRC reported.

“This is a rare case. This would be, as best we know, the seventh case in the country in a child, the only case of monkeypox of a child in the entire state of Texas,” Hidalgo said.

As of Tuesday, the Houston area had 307 official cases of monkeypox.

Also on KSAT:

• Monkeypox dashboard shows current cases of the virus in San Antonio, Bexar County
• Texas A&M epidemiologist explains how MonkeyPox is transmitted
• TRUST INDEX: If you’ve had the smallpox vaccine, do you need one for monkeypox?
• Texas has some of the most monkeypox cases in the US, data shows. Here’s where San Antonio ranks.