Sierra Leone's mpox cases fuel African outbreak, health body says
May 8, 2025
Sierra Leone now accounts for over half of Africa’s confirmed mpox cases this week, with 384 new infections—marking a 63% surge and underscoring the country’s central role in driving the continent’s outbreak, according to the Africa CDC. Limited funding, insufficient contact tracing, and inadequate treatment capacity—only 60 beds for 800 active cases—are compounding the crisis. Although cases are declining in Uganda and Burundi and stabilizing in the DRC, Sierra Leone's escalation highlights the urgent need for strengthened surveillance and resources. With WHO maintaining mpox’s classification as a public health emergency, the international community must prioritize response funding.
Sierra Leone has emerged as the epicenter of Africa’s current mpox outbreak, reporting 384 confirmed cases this week—representing more than 50% of the continent’s total, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The West African nation, which declared mpox a public health emergency in January, is now witnessing a rapid escalation in cases, with a 63% rise in just one week. Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, Africa CDC’s mpox incident manager, highlighted the country’s critical role in fuelling the broader outbreak, noting that the surge is being compounded by chronic underfunding, weak contact tracing systems, and limited laboratory capacity.
Most alarming is the mismatch between the number of active infections—currently around 800—and the country’s treatment infrastructure, which includes only 60 mpox beds. As a result, the vast majority of patients are forced to remain at home, potentially contributing to ongoing community transmission. The situation has reignited concerns about the impact of foreign aid cuts, particularly those from the United States, which have threatened to undermine containment efforts across multiple health emergencies.
Despite progress in other high-burden countries like Uganda and Burundi, where mpox cases are declining, and early signs of plateauing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone’s trend underscores the fragility of national health systems when left under-resourced. Mpox continues to be classified as a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization due to ongoing geographic spread and rising case numbers.
Without immediate international financial support and a scale-up in testing, tracing, and care, Sierra Leone’s outbreak could accelerate further. The response must be comprehensive, with targeted investments in local health infrastructure, community outreach, and vaccine distribution to prevent further escalation and safeguard the region from wider transmission.