Mpox activity escalates in Sierra Leone
May 15, 2025
The alarming rise of mpox cases in Sierra Leone—611 last week alone—demands urgent international attention. Representing over half of all cases in Africa, the outbreak’s rapid spread, particularly in Freetown and its surrounding districts, signals a critical risk of cross-border transmission. While testing coverage remains robust, weak contact tracing hampers containment. Africa CDC’s vaccination campaign has already reached over 30,000 people in two weeks, but with 6.4 million doses needed continent-wide, urgent global support is essential. Mpox remains a public health emergency, and sustained investment in vaccines, contact tracing, and community education will be key to halting its escalation.
Sierra Leone has become the epicenter of the current mpox crisis in Africa, accounting for nearly 60% of all cases on the continent last week. The West African nation reported 611 new cases in just seven days—a sharp increase from the previous week’s 483. The outbreak, concentrated in six districts around Freetown, is driven by the globally circulating clade 2b strain, with 68% of cases affecting males. Despite strong testing infrastructure, the country's contact tracing remains insufficient, averaging just two contacts identified per case.
Africa CDC has responded swiftly. Over the past two weeks, more than 30,000 individuals have been vaccinated in Sierra Leone alone. Yet the scale of the outbreak and limited global vaccine supply means that this is just the beginning. Across Africa, 1.3 million doses have been administered, but health officials estimate 6.4 million are needed by August to effectively curb the spread.
Elsewhere, Uganda and Burundi are showing promising declines, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—long the primary hotspot—is beginning to stabilize as conflict subsides and vaccinations resume. However, Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya has rightly stressed that this remains a public health emergency of continental security.
With vaccination acceptance high and transmission expanding, the need for a coordinated, well-funded response has never been more urgent. The global health community must ramp up vaccine donations and logistical support—not only to stop current outbreaks, but also to immunize high-risk populations and prevent future clade mutations. Sierra Leone’s situation is a stark reminder: infectious disease threats demand sustained, equitable global engagement.