Following the country’s second mpox case in less than four days, Sierra Leone proclaimed a state of emergency on Monday, according to health officials.
According to authorities, neither patient had come into contact with any sick people or animals that were infected. Both patients were being treated at a hospital in the capital, Freetown.
The fast spread of the new strain of the virus led the World Health Organization (WHO) to designate mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a global health emergency in August 2024.
The virus produces severe skin boils, fevers, and headaches. Close physical contact, especially sexual contact, can spread it from one person to another.
The majority of the approximately 43,000 probable cases and 1,000 fatalities from the ongoing mpox outbreak have occurred in the central African nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Because it is thought to spread more readily than other strains and there is evidence that it causes a more severe form of the disease, the new strain that is currently in circulation has sparked worries.
The strain is distinct from the type of mpox that was most common in men during the 2022 outbreak. At the time, the WHO proclaimed an emergency, which persisted until the middle of 2023. It was brought under control by vaccinating susceptible groups.
Previously, the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history occurred in Sierra Leone.
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