Sierra Leone’s health ministry reported 2,045 mpox cases and 11 fatalities since the beginning of 2025, marking a sharp rise in infections. The latest figures were unveiled late Monday, showing 165 new cases in just one day.
The spike in cases comes after the country reported 1,140 infections and nine deaths at the start of May. In response to the surge, Health Minister Austin Demby sought 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines from the Indian High Commissioner.
“We have a state problem on our hands,” Demby told parliament on Tuesday, expressing confidence that the country would overcome this latest health crisis, just as it had Ebola and COVID-19.
Since February, the government has opened four treatment centres in Freetown to address the growing demand for care. Demby noted that cases gradually increased from January, with just one or two cases daily, to 50 in March and April. By May, the number had surged, primarily affecting both urban and rural areas in the west.
Mpox, caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox, presents with fever and skin lesions. While initially confined to a dozen African countries, it has spread more widely since 2022, prompting the World Health Organization to issue its highest alert in 2024.
Sierra Leone’s struggle with mpox follows its previous battle with Ebola, which claimed nearly 4,000 lives between 2014 and 2016, including almost 7% of healthcare workers.