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Case Reports
. 2025 Oct 8;19(1):485.
doi: 10.1186/s13256-025-05547-x.

A 2-week old infant with Mpox in Uganda: a case report

Michael Derrick Ngobi  1 , Lucy Amaniyo  2 , Evelyn Kembabazi  3 , Alice Aine  3 , David Mukunya  3   4 , Vimal Konduri  5 , Patience Atuhaire  3 , Sabrina Bakeera Kitaka  3 , Victor Musiime  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

A 2-week old infant with Mpox in Uganda: a case report

Michael Derrick Ngobi et al. J Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization declared Mpox (formerly known as monkey pox) as a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024. Whereas Mpox primarily affects adults and children, neonatal case reports are rare. We present a case of Mpox in a 2-week-old neonate without prior known history of exposure, and whose mother's DNA polymerase chain reaction test was negative for Mpox.

Case presentation: A 2-week-old African female neonate presented to our emergency unit with 1-week history of high-grade fever and 4-day history of vesicular rash. The rash initially manifested as an erythematous macular rash on the forehead, then gradually transformed into a maculopapular rash, and finally into a vesicular rash that spread cephalocaudally, affecting even the palms and soles. There was no known history of exposure to a person with a similar rash. A real-time polymerase chain reaction test was done, which yielded a positive result for Mpox. The mother's Mpox polymerase chain reaction test was negative. No other family members were tested. The patient was managed in an isolation care center with emollients for skin care, exposure to control fevers, and prophylactic antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial skin infections. The patient subsequently improved and was discharged in good condition from the care center after 11 days of hospitalization.

Conclusion: This case highlights the need to increase the index of suspicion for Mpox even in neonates who present with no clear history of exposure and negative maternal Mpox polymerase chain reaction.

Keywords: Mpox; Neonate; Vesicular rash.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The work was carried out at Mulago National Referral Hospital. The authors complied with the ethical requirements of their institution. Consent for publication: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient’s legal guardian for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal. Competing interests: The authors have no competing interest related to the present study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a AF on day 3 of admission. b AF on day 3 of admission
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
AF on day 17
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Uganda Mpox situation report. Available from https://www.afro.who.int/countries/uganda/publication/mpox-outbreak-ugan.... Cited 09 Feb 2025.

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