Manchester child has state's first pediatric case of monkeypox

Sep. 17—A Manchester child has been diagnosed with monkeypox, and public health officials are now doing contact tracing to identify anyone who may have been exposed at the student's school.

Officials said the risk to the school and community is "very low."

This is the state's first pediatric case of the illness.

The child became infected after exposure to someone in their household who had the illness, according to a news release from the state Department of Health and Human Services. "The child has mild illness and is isolating at home," the news release said.

Public health officials from DHHS and the Manchester Health Department are working with the child's school to identify anyone who may have had direct physical contact or hours of prolonged face-to-face contact with the child while he or she was contagious, health officials said.

Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state epidemiologist, said the monkeypox virus is spread primarily through direct physical contact with someone who has developed infectious skin lesions. Public health investigators will contact anyone identified as having been exposed and provide them information about monitoring for symptoms and vaccination, which can prevent infection after an exposure.

"But the risk to the general school population and others in the community is very low," Chan said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 people have been diagnosed with monkeypox in New Hampshire since the outbreak began in May. The number of confirmed cases in the nation stood at 23,499 as of Friday afternoon. One person has died.

The majority of people infected with the monkeypox virus have been adults, but CDC reports that at least 27 children under 16 have developed the illness in the U.S., according to DHHS.

People who are infected develop a rash that changes over time and then slowly goes away over several weeks, DHHS said. The rash is "very infectious," officials said, and people remain contagious until their rash has fully healed.

Other symptoms of monkeypox virus may include fever, chills, headache, exhaustion, muscle aches, sore throat or swollen lymph nodes.

DHHS said anyone with questions or concerns about the school situation can call the Division of Public Health Services at: 603-271-4496.

More information about monkeypox can be found at dhhs.nh.gov.

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