The Gambia has declared an mpox outbreak after detecting its first case through routine surveillance last Friday, the Ministry of Health announced on yesterday . Under global health guidelines, even a single confirmed case in a country where the virus isn’t circulating is considered an outbreak, requiring immediate action.
Health authorities have begun contact tracing and community engagement to contain the spread. Sequencing is underway to identify the virus subtype, as mpox has two strains: clade 1 and clade 2.
Mpox, related to smallpox, can spread from infected animals or through close human contact. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and boil-like skin lesions, and the disease can be fatal.
The outbreak in The Gambia comes amid a broader regional rise. From January to May, Sierra Leone recorded 3,350 cases and 16 deaths. Liberia reported 71 active cases in June, and Guinea has confirmed over 200 cases since last September. WHO has also noted thousands of cases across the DRC, Uganda, and Burundi, maintaining mpox as an international health emergency.