By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone has registered its first death to the Mpox virus, nearly two months after the country declared an epidemic.
The government’s daily update of the epidemic for Friday March 7 indicated that one person had died of the disease. But it didn’t show which part of the country the fatality was recorded.
Nine new cases were registered on the day.
As of Friday, Sierra Leone has recorded 59 cumulative confirmed cases, 40 of which were in the capital, Freetown and its environs, the most affected by the outbreak.
Eight of the country’s 16 districts have now recorded cases, 37 of which are active.
Sierra Leone declared a public health emergency in January after recording its first two cases of the viral disease, becoming the last of the four Mano River Union countries to fell to the epidemic which has been declared as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The National Public Health Agency (NPHA) in February mounted a nationwide case search operation as part of its strategy to contain the spread of the virus. That comes as the country received its first consignment of vaccines that is expected to be deployed soon, according to health officials.
