Senegalese health authorities have announced two concurrent epidemics: monkeypox (Mpox) and Rift Valley fever. So far, no deaths have been reported among monkeypox cases, but eight fatalities have been attributed to Rift Valley fever.

Five monkeypox cases have been identified in the Dakar region since August 22, with one patient already recovered and others still receiving care. Epidemiological surveillance is ongoing for fifty-two close contacts. Rift Valley fever infections are centered in Saint-Louis in northern Senegal, where 28 confirmed cases and eight deaths were reported since September 21. Four patients in a group of 90 symptomatic individuals have seen their condition worsen.

Reacting to the rise in infections, the Minister of Health convened an emergency meeting, resulting in four key response measures: strengthening intersectoral coordination, improving surveillance systems, ramping up communications to the public, and boosting community mobilization around health interventions.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease that can spread from wild animals to humans and, less frequently, from person to person. Symptoms typically include rash, fever, headaches, muscle pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes, with illness lasting two to four weeks. Rift Valley fever, also a zoonosis, spreads to humans primarily from infected animal tissue or mosquito bites, and severe complications can occasionally be fatal.