Gambia’s health ministry has confirmed one case of the viral disease Mpox which was detected on July 18, APA can report from Banjul on Thursday.
Similar to smallpox, mpox which was known as monkeypox, is a disease with flu-like symptoms caused by a virus and leads to rashes, fever and general body chills.
A statement from the ministry did not state where the lone case was detected but assured the public that its routine national surveillance system has been fully deployed to monitor any possible outbreak.
The detection of a single case in a country where Mpox is not currently in circulation, constitutes an outbreak requiring immediate response” said the statement.
The statement assured the public that there was no cause for alarm as the case while stable, responds to treatment.
”Several ongoing response activities include active case search, contact tracing and community engagement to prevent the outbreak from spreading” the ministry said in its statement.
It advised the Gambian public to trust health workers who are trained to deal with such a situation.
The discovery of the lone case in The Gambia comes against the backdrop of continuing outbreaks across Africa.
According to the Africa CDC, some 23 African countries have also recorded 79,024 mpox cases and 578 related deaths since the start of 2025.
Last August, the centre declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of continental security which was shortly followed by the World Health Organization designating the viral disease as a public health emergency of international concern.
WN/as/APA