Sierra Leone has declared a public health emergency after two cases of mpox were reported. The West African country’s health minister announced the move on Monday after the second case of the deadly viral disease was confirmed.
“The confirmation of two cases of mpox in the country has prompted immediate action as mandated by the Public Health Act,” Health Minister Austin Demby told reporters in the capital, Freetown. “On behalf of the government of Sierra Leone, I am declaring a public health emergency.”
Last week, Sierra Leone reported its first confirmed case of mpox since the African Union’s health watchdog declared a public health emergency over the growing mpox outbreak on the continent last year.
A second case was confirmed after a 21-year-old man showed symptoms on January 6, the National Public Health Agency said on social media.
Neither case had known recent contact with infected animals or other sick individuals, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation said.
Only the first case involved recent travel, limited to the airport town of Lungi in the northern Port Loko District between December 26 and January 6. Both patients are receiving treatment at a hospital in Freetown.
The public health emergency “allows us to act immediately to mobilise the resources needed to contain the disease, prevent further spread and provide care to those affected”, the minister said.
Credit: aljazeera.com
