HOUSTON, Texas — Harris County officials announced the first pediatric case of monkeypox when a toddler tested positive for the virus. Officials called it the first presumptive positive monkeypox case in Texas.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters that a child under the age of two years tested positive for the virus, Fox26 Houston reported. The child reportedly has a residual rash, but is otherwise asymptomatic. Hidalgo referred to the case as a “presumptive positive.”
“I say presumptive positive because all of our cases are presumptive positives until we get complete confirmation from the CDC,” Judge Hidalgo told reporters. “To put into context, so far, we have not yet had a presumptive positive not be a confirmed monkeypox case. At some point, that will happen but so far, it hasn’t happened.”
“We are in contact and have been in contact with the family who are fully cooperative,” the county judge stated. “The family has helped us initiate contact tracing with the folks that this child has been in contact with. We are still in the early stages of the contact tracing, so we’re not finished.”
In Texas, a county judge is the chief executive officer of the county government.
Hidalgo added that the Houston case is presumed to be the only one in Texas at this time.
“This case in Harris County is one of only a handful of cases in young children nationwide. And I understand that it’s a very scary thing, and parents have concerns,” the judge added. “What we need to make sure is to be vigilant and understand the risks, not assume the worst. But this reminds us that this is very real.”
Harris County officials expect it to take about a week to get the official test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The child is expected to make a full recovery. It is not clear at this point, how the child became infected with the virus.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.