A case of severe monkeypox virus disease in an American child: emerging infections and changing professional values

Abstract

Monkeypox virus disease is a rare zoonosis that until recently was limited to Central Africa. We describe the clinical features of the third child in the United States reported with this newly emerging infection. This child was part of a large cluster of individuals in the Midwest infected by prairie dogs that had contracted the virus when housed with infected small mammals imported from Africa. The differential and laboratory diagnoses and the difficulty finding physicians and nurses to care for this patient are discussed.