NCDC confirms 894 Lassa fever cases, 168 deaths

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has put the number of Lassa fever infections recorded in Nigeria since the beginning of 2022 at 894, with 168 deaths.

The NCDC in latest situation report released for week 33 also showed that there are 6392 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 of all confirmed cases, 70% are from Ondo (31%), Edo (26%), and Bauchi (13%) states.

The report read in part “In week 33, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 9 in week 32, 2022 to 5 cases. These were reported from Ondo and Edo States.

The report noted, “Cumulatively from week 1 to week 33, 2022, 168 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 18.8% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (23.3%).

“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 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.

“No new Healthcare worker affected in the reporting week 33.”

(Punch)