Baby Hospitalized with Monkey Pox in Washington State

Although thousands of Americans have tested positive for monkeypox since the outbreak began, this past spring, only a handful of pediatric monkeypox cases have been identified across the U.S.

Across the country, at least 18 children in 10 states have now tested positive for monkeypox, according to state and local health officials, and little is known about most of these cases, due to concerns over patient privacy.

One of these cases has been identified in King County, Washington, where local officials recently confirmed that an infant in their community had tested positive for the monkeypox virus.

The child has been hospitalized and receiving treatment for the virus in recent days after being exposed to monkeypox through an infected family member, officials said. The child did not become infected in a school, child care, or other public setting.

Officials from Seattle Children’s Hospital confirmed to ABC News that their teams are currently caring for the infected baby, who is under the age of 1.

Dr. Danielle Zerr, medical director of infection prevention at Seattle Children’s Hospital, told ABC News that although the infant is still hospitalized, the patient is doing better, and officials are currently creating a discharge plan. The patient has been in the hospital for several days, according to Zerr.

A concerning rash prompted the parents to initially seek care for the infant, she said.

“The main thing that the patient was experiencing was the rash and complications of the rash, so, concern of super infection of the rash. Those were really the reasons that the patient came into the hospital,” Zerr said.

“The rash can be quite pronounced in many patients, especially as it evolves over time. And I think that sort of a rash on a child is going to raise people’s antennae, and lead a parent to seek care,” she added.

In addition to “supportive care” to ensure the patient is hydrated and well-cared for, the hospital has been treating the young patient with TPOXX, a Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for smallpox, that has been made available for children under special expanded access protocols.

“Once we had the confirmed test result, we started that antiviral for the patient and it did really seem like there was some improvement in the days following starting the antiviral,” Zerr said. “The rash has shown some improvement with treatment. So that’s a great sign, and [the] patient seems to maybe be feeling a little bit better.”