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Children at a daycare in Illinois may have been exposed to monkeypox after a worker tested positive for the virus. Officials did not identify the daycare center but said it was located in the village of Rontoul.
Officials said that between 40 and 50 people may have been exposed to the daycare worker or items they may have touched. Contact tracing is underway to determine if anybody else outside of the daycare center was exposed.
"Anyone with a tiny little suspicion, they will be put in isolation pending results" of monkeypox testing, said Julie Pryde, administrator of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.
Pediatricians were also dispatched to the daycare center to check the children for signs of monkeypox. According to the Washington Post, the Food and Drug Administration will allow the children to receive the Jynneos vaccine even though it is only authorized for adults.
"Pediatricians are on-site as we speak to screen children for cases, and there are mobile testing and vaccines for their families," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said.
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services declared the monkeypox outbreak a national health emergency. As of August 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed over 7,500 cases of monkeypox in the United States.