Sierra Leone Confronts Rising Mpox Outbreak with Vaccination Push

Sierra Leone is facing a significant rise in mpox infections, with the Ministry of Health confirming 1,140 cases and nine deaths since the start of the year, according to figures released late Thursday. The new data reflects a sharp increase from just a week ago, when authorities reported 763 cases and six fatalities.

The capital, Freetown, remains the worst-hit area, prompting an urgent public health response. In January, the government declared a public health emergency and has since launched a targeted vaccination campaign to contain the spread of the virus.

“We are ramping up the vaccination drive in Freetown, border towns and rural areas mainly for frontline health workers and high-risk hotspots to ensure the protection of our people from the virus,” said Desmond Maada Kangbai, head of the health ministry’s vaccination programme.

Sierra Leone began vaccinations in early April after receiving 61,300 doses from the World Health Organization (WHO). So far, 2,500 people—primarily children aged 12 and up, exposed healthcare workers, and those at high risk—have been immunized.

To bolster the response, four treatment centres have been opened in Freetown since February.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus related to smallpox. It typically causes fever, swollen lymph nodes, and skin lesions. Once largely confined to parts of Africa, the disease began spreading to other regions in 2022, prompting the WHO to declare its highest alert level in 2024.

Sierra Leone’s response is shaped by its experience during the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic, which killed around 4,000 people in the country, including nearly seven percent of its health workforce. That legacy has made officials especially vigilant in the face of another potentially deadly viral outbreak.