Freetown ‒ Sierra Leone is deploying a vary of measures to alter and finish an outbreak of mpox in which 20 instances maintain to this point been reported since the illness used to be confirmed on 13 January 2025.
The National Public Effectively being Agency, with support from partners, including World Effectively being Organization (WHO), is stepping up illness surveillance to speedily detect instances, provide care and prevent further spread of infection. With technical and logistical support from WHO, emergency public health workers are enhancing packed with life case search and investigation for a more good outbreak response.
Sierra Leone has been reinforcing preparedness and ability to retort to public health emergencies in most up-to-date years. In November 2024, WHO supported the training of 65 health workers and laboratory personnel in diagnostic procedures and sample collection. Additionally, 160 health workers had been trained on integrated plan covering surveillance, case management, infection prevention and alter, laboratory practices, and chance conversation and neighborhood engagement. This proactive plan ensured frontline workers had been willing to alter the mpox outbreak from the onset.
To further wait on curb the spread of the illness, a consignment of 61 300 vaccine doses is anticipated to be delivered in the coming weeks in Sierra Leone thanks to support from WHO and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Africa Facilities for Disease Management and Prevention and UNICEF. These organizations will duvet operational charges for the vaccination targeting at-chance folks, including health workers. Additionally, efforts, coordinated by partners, including UNICEF, are underway to increase public consciousness about the illness in addition to abet preventive measures and the importance of seeking clinic therapy.
WHO has already delivered over US$ 38 000 payment of wanted laboratory supplies and deepest protecting equipment, including gloves, robes, aprons, face shields, biohazard extinguish baggage, and infrared thermometers. Supplies furthermore included genomics sequencing reagents, PCR kits for 400 tests, GeneXpert cartridges for 50 tests, and genomic sequencing kits for forty five tests.
Clinical care is furthermore being reinforced. WHO has procured medicine kits for 20 inpatients and 180 outpatients and is providing technical experience to clinicians and other responders by assisting in the planning of response activities and developing case management guidelines and training programmes.
“Despite a kind of challenges, WHO has efficiently mobilized resources in any admire stages to bring predominant commodities, including vaccines,” says Dr George Ameh, WHO Representative in Sierra Leone. “We are able to continue to support the nation to bring this most up-to-date outbreak below alter.”
An upsurge of mpox (formerly identified as monkeypox) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread to neighbouring international locations used to be declared a public health emergency of international arena on 14 August 2024. At total of 22 international locations in the African keep maintain reported instances since 2024, of which 12 currently maintain packed with life outbreaks.
WHO and partner organizations are working intently with the affected international locations to contain these outbreaks. According to Professor Foday Sahr, the Director of Sierra Leone’s National Public Effectively being Agency, the support by WHO “continues to be certain that our ministry and agency prevail in safeguarding the health of our electorate.”
Mpox is a viral illness precipitated by an orthopoxvirus. It spreads mainly via shut contact with any person who has mpox, causing a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever. In severe instances, the illness will be lethal.
