Monkeypox and kids: The risk is low. - Slate

But monkeypox, while also caused by a virus, behaves very differently than SARS-CoV-2.

Experts believe that the monkeypox virus can be spread in three ways: direct contact with viral skin lesions, contact with saliva from someone with viral lesions in their mouth or throat, or touching a contaminated object.

“Once the virus found its way to the genital area, it’s like ‘oh, wow, this is nice warm area with mucous membranes and people seem to like to rub their genital areas against each other.

That doesn’t mean monkeypox can’t spread among children.

The known infected kids probably caught the virus at home from a parent or caretaker—perhaps through some unlucky cuddles or kisses.

If the infected child has hand lesions, and they go unnoticed by school staff, then theoretically other kids could pick up the virus from, say, contaminated toys, though it probably would be through somewhat involved play, not merely touching a toy that an infected kid also at some point touched.

And for the youngest children, who still need diapers changed or may need to be hand-fed, a day care worker with a hand lesion could transmit the virus to the child—or vice versa, a child with a lesion could transmit the virus to the day care worker, who could in turn transmit the virus to other babies in the center.

But unlike COVID, monkeypox isn’t caused by a new virus.

In a media briefing, the WHO noted that a few infected children had no infected household members, meaning those children caught the virus elsewhere.

(With other viral strains, children seem to be harder hit by monkeypox than adults, and in pregnant people, the virus has causes stillbirths. But data for this strain is lacking.).