Lassa fever has continued to spread in Nigeria with 676 confirmed cases registered across 89 local government areas in 22 states across the nation.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention made this public in its Lassa fever status report for week nine ranging from January to March 5, 2023.
The study stated that the death toll has climbed to 109, up from the previous 104.
With the latest death toll, the public health institution observed that the case-fatality ratio of the epidemic remained at 16.1 per cent.
NCDC observed that 72 per cent of the confirmed Lassa fever cases were recorded from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi while 28 per cent were reported from two states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.
Of the 72 per cent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 33 per cent, Edo 29 per cent, and Bauchi 10 per cent.
According to the World Health Organisation, Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic sickness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses. Humans commonly get infected with the Lassa virus by contact with food or household objects contaminated with the urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats. The illness is prevalent in the rat population in portions of West Africa.
Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Nigeria, but presumably occurs in other West African nations as well.
Inadequate environmental cleanliness, insufficient awareness, and late presentation of illnesses are claimed to drive the pandemic in Nigeria.
“In week 9, the number of new confirmed cases reduced from 59 in week 8 2023 to 40 instances. They were reported from Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Ebonyi States.
“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 9, 2023, 109 fatalities have been recorded with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 16.1 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same time in 2022 (18.6 per cent) (18.6 per cent).
“The primary age group afflicted is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 93 years, Median Age: 32 years) (Range: 1 to 93 years, Median Age: 32 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 10.8.
“The number of suspected cases rose compared to that recorded for the same time in 2022.
“One new Healthcare worker was impacted in the reporting week nine,” the report said in part.
