Sierra Leone declares mpox emergency after confirming 2 cases

ISTANBUL

Sierra Leone has declared a public health emergency after confirming two mpox cases.

“Key strategies, including managing the current situation, breaking chain of transmission & heightened surveillance are central to the ongoing response,” the Health Ministry said in a statement on X on Tuesday. The West African nation confirmed its first mpox case on Jan. 10.

Mpox, caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox, and is characterized by high fever and skin lesions known as vesicles. In 2022, outbreaks were triggered in more than 70 countries across the world.

The World Health Organization had declared the disease a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024.

In Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo remains the worst-hit country, with a vast majority of more than 49,000 suspected cases and 1,100 deaths confirmed in the continent since January 2024, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2014, Sierra Leone was the epicenter of Ebola outbreak.