By Alfred Koroma
The National Public Health Agency (NPHA) has confirmed the first Mpox case since the global health alert was declared in August last year.
The case is a 27-year-old male from the Western Area Rural District. He has been isolated while contact tracing, isolation, and 21-day monitoring of identified contacts is being conducted, NPHA announced in a press statement published on January 10, 2025.
NPHA urges the public to follow health guidelines to control the outbreak, advising everyone to practice hand hygiene and avoid contact with sick individuals and wild animals.
The Agency also encouraged citizens to report symptoms to health authorities and avoid stigmatization of affected individuals.
Monkeypox (Mpox) disease is transmitted from animals to humans and can quickly spread through close contact with an infected person or animal, or through contaminated materials. Its symptoms include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
Last year, the disease affected other African countries, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had warned of the potential for further spread in Africa, prompting the UN health agency’s declaration of Public health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in August 2024.
At the time, there was a suspected case in Sierra Leone, but it was not confirmed. Health authorities then urged the public to remain vigilant and actively participate in preventing the potential spread of the disease.
According to WHO, between 0.1 percent and 10 percent of people with Mpox have died. As of August last year, there were 14,000 reported cases of the virus with 524 deaths, an increase in reported cases from 2023.
