Two children have been diagnosed with monkeypox in the U.S., health officials said Friday. One is a toddler in California and the other an infant who is not a U.S. resident but was tested while in Washington, D.C., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The children were described as being in good health and receiving treatment. How they caught the disease is being investigated, but officials think it was through household transmission. Other details weren’t immediately disclosed. Monkeypox is endemic in parts of Africa, but this year more than 15,000 cases have been reported in countries that historically don’t see the disease. In the U.S. and Europe, the vast majority of infections have happened in men who have sex with men, though health officials have stressed that anyone can catch the virus. In addition to the two pediatric cases, health officials said they were aware of at least eight women among the more than 2,800 U.S. cases reported so far. While the virus has mostly been spreading among men who have sex with men, “I don’t think its surprising that we are occasionally going to see cases” outside that social network, the CDC’s Jennifer McQuiston told reporters Friday. Officials have said the virus can spread through close personal contact, and via towels and bedding. That means it can happen in homes, likely through prolonged or intensive contact, said Dr. James Lawler, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “People don’t crawl on each other’s beds unless they are living in the same house or family,” he said. Read: Monkeypox cases triple in Europe, WHO says, Africa concerned In Europe, there have been at least six monkeypox cases among kids 17 years old and younger. This week, doctors in the Netherlands published a report of a boy who was seen at an Amsterdam hospital with about 20 red-brown bumps scattered across his body. It was monkeypox, and doctors said they could not determine how he got it. In Africa, monkeypox infections in children have been more common, and doctors have noted higher proportions of severe cases and deaths in young children. One reason may be that many older adults were vaccinated against smallpox as kids, likely giving them some protection against the related monkeypox virus, Lawler said. Smallpox vaccinations were discontinued when the disease was eradicated about 40 years ago.

Transmission from hepatitis B infected mother to child, unsafe blood transfusion, hazardous uses of medical equipment, including syringes, are major risk factors for spreading hepatitis in Bangladesh, according to experts. Speaking at a discussion, they also said poor knowledge about hepatitis, lack of awareness in testing and treatment options, misinformation, stigmatisation and discrimination against infected people are obstacles to eliminating the viral disease. National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh, World Hepatitis Alliance and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine jointly organised the programme participated by local and international experts in the field at The Daily Star Centre on Friday. Also read: China starts research on liver cancer in hepatitis B patients National Liver Foundation founder professor Mohammad Ali said Bangladesh has a plan for eliminating the hepatitis virus by 2030. He said about 10 million people in Bangladesh were living with viral hepatitis and it was causing 20,000 deaths annually. “Hepatitis is a major cause of liver cancer, the 3rd cause of cancer death in Bangladesh.” Hepatology Society, Bangladesh’s general secretary Prof Shahinul Alam said the unsafe blood transfusions by unskilled people bear a major risk for Hepatitis infection. He also said professional blood donors are among the vulnerable for easily getting infected and spreading the virus. Dhaka Medical College Hospital Hepatology department head Dr Faruque Ahmed said the Hepatitis virus causes chronic infections in the liver as vaccinations and testing are the major safety and prevention mechanism. He said that all the infants at birth, children under 6 years, dialysis patients, blood donors, surgical & dental staff, nurses, people engaged in hazardous work coming into contact with blood & blood products, sex workers, must be prioritised in vaccinations. Also read: Hepatitis B spread in under-5 children lowest in decades: WHO Hepatitis B virus transmission from Hepatitis B infected mother to her child is the most common way of transmission of hepatitis B virus, every pregnant woman to be tested for Hepatitis B virus & all children should be vaccinated within 24 hours of birth (Birth dose) followed by more two doses, said Dr Golam Azam, Associate professor of BIRDEM General Hospital. Professor Syed Alamgir Safwath of Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College in Sylhet said many hospitals and health facilities in the county lack standard blood screening and pre-operative hygiene posing risks for spreading Hepatitis. Situation in Rohingya camps alarming Bangladesh Armed Forces former director-general of medical services Major General (retired) Rabiul Hossain said the prevalence of Hepatitis in the Rohingya community in Bangladeshi refugee camps is alarming. He said the study of the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh found that 11 per cent of over  1 million Rohingya people are infected with Hepatitis C.