Texas toddler presumed positive for monkeypox

A Texas toddler younger than two appears to have tested positive for monkeypox, a Houston-area leader confirmed Tuesday.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said officials have yet to determine how the baby contracted the disease, noting the child hasn’t been in daycare or school. The presumed case won’t be confirmed until testing is done by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention.

“The child is currently expected to have a full recovery, is doing very, very well,” Hidalgo said during a press conference streamed by KHOU 11.

She said the only symptom the child is showing is a rash.

Contact tracing is underway, but no one has appeared to catch the virus from the child yet, Hidalgo said. The child’s parents are also cooperating with officials.

“This case in Harris County is one of only a handful of cases in young children nationwide,” she said. “I understand that it’s a very scary thing and parents have concern.”

There have been over 1,000 monkeypox cases in Texas, according to the CDC.

New York has the most cases in the nation with 2,620.

The CDC says monkeypox can be caught through close, personal, and often skin-to-skin contact.