Sierra Leone is grappling with a surge in mpox infections, reporting 177 new cases in just two days, according to the Ministry of Health. The country, which declared a public health emergency in January, has escalated its response, deploying health teams to conduct household screenings in affected areas.
Amanda Clemens, the ministry’s social mobilisation coordinator, confirmed the uptick in cases, bringing the national total to 763 since January. This includes six fatalities and 282 recoveries. The capital, Freetown, has seen the highest concentration of cases, prompting the government to establish four treatment centers in the city since February.
Misinformation surrounding mpox has hindered efforts to curb the outbreak. Sallu Lansana, from the vaccination team, emphasized that fear and delayed testing have allowed the virus to spread undetected in some cases.
In response, Sierra Leone began vaccinating frontline health workers, high-risk individuals, and children aged 12 and above in April, securing 61,300 doses from the World Health Organization. As of Saturday, over 1,000 people, primarily health workers, have been vaccinated.
Mpox, caused by a virus related to smallpox, presents with fever and skin lesions. Though it was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970, the disease has spread more widely since 2022, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency in 2024.
Sierra Leone, still recovering from the devastating 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, now faces a new public health challenge, with lessons from past crises shaping its current response.