The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has revealed that 894 cases of Lassa fever infections have been confirmed since the beginning of the year, with 168 deaths.
The latest situation report released for week 33 by the NCDC showed that there are 6,392 suspected cases of the infection across 101 local government areas in 25 states.
Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever and an acute viral illness and the zoonotic disease has a high morbidity and mortality rate and economic and health security implications.
The report showed that 70 per cent of all the confirmed cases are from Ondo (31 per cent); Edo (26 per cent), and Bauchi (13 per cent) states.
The report read, “In week 33, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from nine in week 32, 2022 to 5 cases. These were reported from Ondo and Edo states.
“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 33 in 2022, 168 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 18.8 per cent, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (23.3 per cent).
“In total for 2022, 25 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 101 local government areas.
“Of all confirmed cases, 70% are from Ondo (31%), Edo (26%), and Bauchi (13%) states.
“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 0 to 90 years, Median Age: 30 years).
“The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021.
“No new healthcare worker has been affected in the reporting week 33.”