Mpox Outbreak Escalates in Sierra Leone with Over 1,100 Cases and Rising Death Toll

May 4, 2025

Sierra Leone is facing a growing public health emergency as confirmed mpox infections surge to 1,140 cases, with nine deaths reported since the start of the year. The figures represent a sharp increase from last week’s tally of 763 cases and six fatalities.

Freetown, the capital, remains the hardest-hit area, prompting an aggressive response from health authorities. A vaccination campaign launched in April, backed by over 61,000 doses from the World Health Organisation, has prioritized frontline healthcare workers, high-risk communities, and children aged 12 and above. So far, about 2,500 people have received the vaccine.

“We’re intensifying vaccination efforts in urban centers, border towns, and rural hotspots,” said Desmond Maada Kangbai, head of the national vaccination programme.

To strengthen the response, the government has opened four dedicated treatment centers in Freetown since February.

Mpox, related to smallpox, causes fever and distinctive skin lesions. Though once confined to a few African nations since it was first identified in the DRC in 1970, a 2022 global outbreak pushed the virus into new territories. In 2024, the WHO declared mpox a global health emergency.

The current outbreak is reviving fears of another health disaster like the Ebola crisis, which claimed nearly 4,000 lives in Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2016.