Nigeria Records 109 Deaths, 3,272 Lassa Fever Cases In 9 Weeks

At least 109 persons have lost their lives to Lassa Fever in the first nine weeks of 2023 in some parts of Nigeria.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on Monday said 3,272 suspected cases were recorded out of which 676 cases returned positive between January 1 and March 05, 2023.

The agency noted that the 109 deaths represent 16.1% Case Fatality Rate (CFR), which it said is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (18.6%).

The confirmed Lassa Fever cases (676) were reported in 22 states, and across 89 Local Government Areas.

According to the NCDC, the new confirmed cases decreased from 59 in week eight of 2023 to 40 cases in week nine.

“These figures were reported from Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Ebonyi States with at least one Lassa fever case in 16 Local Government Areas,” the centre said.

The report further revealed that a total of 72 percent of all confirmed cases were recorded in three states including Ondo, Edo and Bauchi.

The NCDC added that the age group most affected by the virus is between 21 and 30 years.

It further revealed that the National Lassa Fever multi-partner and multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been initiated to coordinate response to activities at all levels.