In Makong village, Konikay Sanda Chiefdom, Tonkolili district, Sierra Leone, two people have been quarantined following the death of a 32-year-old man with widespread rashes on his body, suspected to be a case of Mpox.

The country’s Public Health Agency reported that on August 20, 2024, the Kono District Surveillance Office received notification of the suspected Mpox case. In response, a Rapid Response Team, including a District Surveillance Officer, clinicians, and a laboratory technician, was dispatched to investigate.

The patient exhibited symptoms such as fever, lesions, red raised bumps, pus-filled blisters, muscle pain, headache, joint pain, and weakness, which began on August 12, 2024, after he returned from his farm.

The Rapid Response Team collected a sample from the patient, who was then evacuated to the Koidu Government Hospital Isolation Unit. Unfortunately, the patient passed away the same day.

Samples have been collected for further testing, and preparations are underway to establish an isolation unit. Meanwhile, the man’s two close contacts, his mother-in-law and younger brother, have been placed in quarantine as a precaution.