Lassa Fever kills 142 persons in 23 states

Nigeria has recorded about 784 confirmed cases of Lassa fever with 142 deaths across 23 states in the last three months, as disclosed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control and Prevention (NCDC).

 The NCDC said the infections were recorded from January 1 till date. In Epidemiological Week 11, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 70 in Week 10 of 2023 to 38 cases.

 The cases were reported from Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Taraba, Benue, Rivers, Plateau and Nasarawa States.

 From Epidemiological Week 1 to Week 11, 142 deaths had been reported with Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.1 per cent which was lower than the 18.7 per cent CFR for the same period in 2022. 

 23 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 97 local government areas. 71 per cent of all new confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from Ondo, Edo and Bauchi while 29 per cent came from six states. 

Ondo reported 32 per cent, Edo, 29 and Bauchi, 10. The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years with the median age as 32 years.

 The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases was 1:0.9. The number of suspected cases increased compared to the number reported for the same period in 2022. It was also gathered that a healthcare worker was affected in Week 11.