NCDC: 990 Lassa fever cases recorded in 28 states — 170 dead

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says there have been 990 cases of Lassa fever recorded in Nigeria.

In a situation report on Monday, the NCDC said the cases were recorded from week 1 to week 27 of 2023.

The agency said in week 27 from July 3 to July 7, six cases were reported from Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi and Benue states.

The NCDC added that 170 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 17.2 percent which is lower for the same period in 2022.

“In total for 2023, 28 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 108 local government areas,” the report reads.

“Seventy-three percent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from these three states (Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi) while 27 percent were reported from 25 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases. Of the 73 percent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 33 percent, Edo 29 percent, and Bauchi 11 percent.

“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 93 years, Median Age: 32 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.

“No new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 27.

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