Sierra Leone has reported its first confirmed Mpox case since last year, when the world’s highest alert level for the potentially fatal viral disease was issued.
The National Public Health Agency, in a social media post, reported that the patient is a 27-year-old man from the rural district of the Western Zone, near the capital, Freetown.
According to the organization, health specialists are actively tracing and investigating to identify potentially affected individuals and prevent future spread.
It added that tests had confirmed the case on January 10 but did not specify the variant affecting the patient.
Mpox is caused by a virus from the same family as smallpox, manifesting itself through a high fever and skin lesions, called vesicles.
