Nigeria Records 877 Lassa Fever Cases As Deaths Hit 152 In Week 15

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) in its latest situation report on Wednesday revealed that the country’s total Lassa fever cases have risen to 877 in 2023.

According to the report, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 23 in Epi Week 14 to 9 in the current week.

The new cases in week 15 were recorded from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi States.

From week 1 through week 15, 2023, no fewer than 152 deaths were reported, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 17.3 percent, which is lower than the CFR recorded in the same period in 2022, which was 19.0 per cent.

The agency said at least one confirmed case of Lassa fever has been recorded in 26 states across 101 Local Government Areas in 2023.

“Seven-two(72%) of all confirmed Lassa fever were reported from these three states(Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi) while 28% were reported from 23 States with confirmed Lassa fever cases. Of the 72% confirmed cases, Ondo reported 32%, Edo 29%, and Bauchi 11%” the report read.

It said the total number of suspected cases from the acute virus in 2023 (4,702) increased compared to 4,127 cases reported for the same period last year.

It disclosed that no healthcare workers were infected with the virus during reporting week 15.

The most vulnerable age group to Lassa fever is 21-30 years old, with a male-to-female ratio of 1: 0.9 for confirmed cases.

A multi-partner, multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Lassa fever, has been activated to coordinate response efforts at all levels.