Mpox emergency declared in Sierra Leone

Following the confirmation of two new cases of mpox, Sierra Leone has declared a public health emergency. The first case was confirmed on 10th January. In a statement disseminated via a popular online platform, the Ministry of Health identified the management of the current situation, the interruption of the disease transmission chain and enhanced health surveillance as being pivotal to containing the ongoing outbreak. Within the African continent, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to be the most heavily affected nation, with a substantial majority of over 49,000 suspected cases and 1,100 associated fatalities reported on the continent since January 2024. This information has been provided by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa). This declaration follows a series of previous health emergencies in Sierra Leone. The nation served as the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in 2014.