Senegal is facing a challenging public health situation, with an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in the Saint-Louis region coinciding with a resurgence of Mpox (monkeypox) infections.
Upon returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Senegal’s Minister of Health, Dr. Ibrahima Sy, traveled directly to Saint-Louis to oversee the RVF response. As of September 28, the region had confirmed 21 cases of RVF, including seven deaths, spread across three health districts.
The Minister honored the victims and commended the multi-sectoral efforts established to contain the virus. He stressed the need for strong community mobilization—including eliminating stagnant water and mosquito breeding sites—and delivered substantial supplies of insecticides and larvicides to the deployed medical teams. Authorities are also promoting community surveillance and public awareness for early treatment and prevention.
The country is simultaneously tackling a new cluster of Mpox cases. On September 25, the Ministry of Health reported two new Mpox infections, which were confirmed by the Pasteur Institute of Dakar. These patients had been in contact with an individual diagnosed just three days prior, indicating rapid community spread shortly after Senegal was declared free of active cases.
Authorities confirmed that these new infections (Clade 2b) are unrelated to the initial imported case from August (Clade 1b), meaning Senegal is currently managing two distinct clusters. Currently, 42 contacts of the three hospitalized patients are under medical follow-up, with all clinical conditions reported as stable. This resurgence occurs even as the weekly number of new confirmed infections across Africa has dropped significantly since May.
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