Dr. Dougbeh Nyan, Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), announced that one suspected Mpox case has been tested and confirmed positive, marking the first confirmed case in the country since the global outbreak was declared.
"Out of those 8 cases, two have two samples that went through our testing regimen. One of those came out positive," he said at a press conference to announce the issue. "However," he says, "the suspected cases are in isolation."
Dr. Nyan said eight samples of suspected cases were sent from Sinoe County for testing, and one of them tested positive. He says the case is currently being treated and managed.
"This is a 7-year-old female with no travel history from Sinoe, so within the scope of the declaration of the outbreak we can say that this is our first case within this period since the declaration was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Center for Disease Control (CDC)."
On August 17, 2024, NPHIL announced that the country had five mpox cases. Weeks after, one case was also confirmed, making the country case six. However, the six cases were treated and discharged.
WHO and the Africa CDC declared mpox, once called monkeypox, a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) after it spread in West, East, and South Africa, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reporting more cases and deaths. The infection was once declared an outbreak in 2022.
Mpox is the disease caused by the Monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same family as the virus that causes smallpox. It is transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact, sexual contact with bodily fluids, or lesions found around the anus, rectum, or vagina from a Mpox-infected person, and through respiratory secretions and droplets. Fever, chills, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, and muscle aches are the most known symptoms.
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According to Dr. Nyan, the eight suspected cases that are currently being treated were found as a result of contact tracing. "They have made contact, tracing those who came in contact with any of these 8 persons. Now there is one person who may have been patient or suspect zero and, from that end, the family members are taking care of that person because they show all the symptoms."
The Director General added that their major challenge is getting testing kits, gloves, and ambulances. "We are trying to get a lot of diagnostic kits through the WHO, Africa CDC."
Meanwhile, HPHIL has announced the establishment of the Incidence Management System to coordinate and respond to the outbreak. He says the Incidence Management System will monitor border points, particularly between Liberia and La Côte d'Ivoire.
