Riverside County reports 1st pediatric case of monkeypox

Clearing up confusion and information on COVID, monkeypox

The LA County health department says COVID cases are declining, but monkeypox cases are slowly rising, this as the CDC admits it made some big mistakes responding to COVID-19 including public messaging. FOX 11's Phil Shuman explains more and clears up the confusion.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. - Health officials in Riverside County on Friday announced the county’s first confirmed pediatric case of monkeypox.

Officials said the child is from the western side of the county and is under 10 years old. They added the young patient did not require hospitalization and is recovering at home.

Earlier this week, officials from the Riverside University Health System-Public Health were notified about the preliminary positive test results and were working to determine the source of the child's infection.

"This case reminds everyone that MPX can impact anyone, regarding of age, gender or sexual orientation," said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, public health officer for Riverside County.

Riverside County has reported 256 probable monkeypox cases, with the majority of them reported from the Coachella Valley.

Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. The main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that monkeypox causes lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy) while smallpox does not. The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7−14 days but can range from 5−21 days.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Monkeypox Riverside County Inland Empire