Monkeypox is beginning to spread in high-risk groups, including children, the World Health Organization has warned.
To date, the majority of the approximately 4,800 cases reported worldwide – including more than 1,000 in the UK – have been detected in men who have sex with men.
But at a press conference on Wednesday, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the UN health agency, said the scale of the unusual outbreak means monkeypox is beginning to spread to more vulnerable groups.
“I’m concerned about continued transmission because it would suggest that the virus is establishing itself and that it could pass into high-risk groups — including children, immunocompromised women and pregnant women,” Dr. Tedros at a media briefing. “We are now starting to see this in several children who are already infected.”
The WHO added that it is investigating reports of infections in children under 18 in Spain and France, while at least one case has been found in the UK since May.