Sierra Leone has reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox (mpox) since the World Health Organization (WHO) issued its highest alert for the viral disease last year.
The National Public Health Agency stated that the patient is a 27-year-old man from a rural district in the Western Zone, near the capital, Freetown.
“Health teams are actively tracing and investigating to identify potential contacts and prevent further transmission,” the agency said in a social media post.
The case was confirmed on January 10, although health authorities have not yet disclosed the specific variant involved.
Mpox, caused by a virus related to smallpox, typically presents with symptoms such as high fever and skin lesions, known as vesicles. First identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970, it had been largely confined to a few African nations until its wider spread in 2022, including to areas where it had not been previously reported. In response to the increased global threat, the WHO raised the alert level for mpox in 2024.
In response to this case, Sierra Leone’s health authorities have swiftly implemented containment measures. The patient has been isolated, and contacts will be monitored for 21 days. Surveillance activities have been ramped up in areas the patient visited.
To mitigate further spread, a public awareness campaign has been launched, and health workers are being provided with protective equipment and trained in preventive practices.
Sierra Leone previously endured a devastating Ebola outbreak between 2014 and 2016, which claimed nearly 4,000 lives, including almost 7% of the country’s healthcare workers.
