
Mpox is spreading rapidly across Sierra Leone, with confirmed cases now in all 16 regions, including the capital, Freetown.
Health officials say they are overwhelmed as they try to isolate and treat patients amid a surge in infections that has already surpassed last year’s continent-wide totals.
In January, authorities began treating mpox patients at home to protect hospital beds for people with conditions like malaria and pregnancy complications.
But the strategy failed.
The virus, which spreads through close contact, moved swiftly through densely populated areas. Infections spiked.
The government has since opened several isolation centers. But they are overcrowded and under-equipped.
There are not enough beds. Vaccine supplies are critically low.
A campaign to trace and track those exposed was suspended in April when the health ministry ran out of funds.
Despite urgent appeals for vaccines and aid, support from the international community has been minimal.
“It’s a weak health system to start with, now worsened also by the fact that we are in the financial crisis with declining development assistance,” said Dr. Ngashi Ngongo of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Africa CDC and the World Health Organization decided last week to keep Africa’s mpox emergency declaration in place.
“The global risk and also the risk to other countries is too high,” Ngongo said.
Liberia, Sierra Leone’s neighbor, is also seeing a steady rise in cases.
Across Africa, more than 20,000 mpox cases have been reported in 26 countries.
Experts estimate 6.4 million doses of vaccine are needed to contain the crisis. Only 500,000 are available.
The Democratic Republic of Congo remains the worst hit.
Over 21,000 people have died, and more than 100,000 are believed to have been exposed.
“The good news is that the situation in DRC is stabilizing,” Ngongo said at a recent briefing.
He linked the decline in cases to reduced conflict along the Rwandan border.
Still, many experts warn the actual numbers are far higher than reported.
Congo can test only one in four suspected cases.
In Sierra Leone, nearly everyone who gets tested is positive — but few are being tested at all.
With vaccine supply limited, the government is prioritizing frontline health workers and people with underlying conditions.