New York reports one case of monkeypox in a child as virus continues to wane

New York health authorities this week reported the city's first juvenile case of monkeypox, a statistical anomaly that comes as the viral outbreak there continues to decline.

The city's health website shows one monkeypox patient in the 0-17 range, of just under 3,000 cases total in the city so far. 

City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan told media in a statement that "while we understand the concerns of families, we also know that the overall risk of exposure for children in the city remains very low." 

The vast majority of cases in New York, per the city's health data, have occurred in gay men between the ages of 18-44, with most of those being reported in Brooklyn and Manhattan. 

Black and white city residents have reported cases in roughly the same numbers — around 700 in each demographic — while Hispanic residents comprise roughly 900 of the known cases so far.