PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Health Authority has confirmed the state’s first pediatric case of monkeypox, the agency announced Wednesday.
The case is reportedly connected to a monkeypox case reported in an adult last month.
“We have a known connection to a previously diagnosed case,” said Dean Sidelinger, health officer and state epidemiologist at OHA. “This child did not get the virus at school, child care or another community setting.”
Public health officials learned of the child’s positive monkeypox test on Monday, four days after the child was initially tested.
Information that could identify the child will not be released to ensure patient confidentiality.
With many students returning to school in just a matter of weeks, some parents have expressed concern regarding the spread of monkeypox in the classroom. Sidelinger said there’s a slim chance of contracting the virus in a school setting since it typically spreads with direct contact with the rash, scabs or body fluids of a person.
As of Wednesday morning, OHA reports there are 116 presumptive and confirmed monkeypox cases in the state. Only four of those were reported in women, while the other 112 were all reported in men.
Nationally, the CDC reports more than 12,700 cases of monkeypox.
The OHA and Oregon Department of Education will be holding a press conference detailing back-to-school plans amid COVID-19 and monkeypox. That event is slated to begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday and will be livestreamed on KOIN.com.