Lassa Fever Killed 159 In Six Months – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has revealed that 53 health workers were infected with Lassa fever, bringing the death toll to 159 from January to June 26.

This was revealed by NCDC latest Lassa fever situation report, which was published on Tuesday, on its website.

Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever and an acute viral illness.

This zoonotic disease has a high morbidity and mortality rate, as well as economic and health security implications.

According to the report, the country has 820 confirmed cases and 5,380 suspected cases of the disease.

The report’s highlights revealed that the number of new confirmed cases increased from eight in week 24 to 10 cases in week 25.

“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 25, 2022, 159 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 19.4% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (20.8%).

“In total for 2022, 24 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 98 Local Government Areas.

“Of all confirmed cases, 68% are from Ondo (29%), Edo (25%), and Bauchi (14%) states. “The predominant age-group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 90 years, Median Age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8. “The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021.

“One new healthcare worker affected in the reporting week 25 from Ondo state.

“National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group continues to coordinate the response activities at all levels,” NCDC noted.