Lassa fever cases rise as 37 persons killed in three weeks

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)  says 244 Lassa fever cases have been recorded in the country in 2023.

The agency’s latest Lassa fever report said 137 new cases were recorded in week three from January 16 to January 22.

The cases were reported from Ondo, Edo, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Plateau, Kogi, Anambra, Delta, FCT, Adamawa, and Enugu states.

The new figure shows a 77.9 percent increase from the cases recorded in week 2.

The agency also said 18 more people have died from the disease, bringing the number of deaths in 2023 to 37.

“In week 3, the number of new confirmed cases increased from 77 in week 2 2023 to 137 cases,” the report reads.

“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 3, 2023, 37 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 15.1% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (18.8%).

“In total for 2023, 16 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 50 Local Government Areas.

“Seventy-nine (79%) of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from these three states (Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi) while 21% were reported from 13 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases. Of the 79% of confirmed cases, Ondo reported 37%, Edo 36%, and Bauchi 5%.

“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 79 years, Median Age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.9.

“The number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022.

“Two new Healthcare workers were affected in the reporting week 3.”