The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has announced that 85 Nigerians have died from Lassa fever in the first 6 weeks of 2023.
The NCDC said 531 suspected cases have been recorded this year, and 20 states have recorded at least one confirmed case of Lassa fever across 79 local government areas.
The statement read;
“Cumulatively, from week 1 to week 6, 2023, 85 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 16.0% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (16.5%).
“Of the 74% confirmed cases, Ondo reported 36%, Edo 31% and Bauchi 7%”.
The number of new confirmed cases decreased from 106 in week five of 2023 to 68 cases in week six. They were reported from Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Ebonyi, Gombe, Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau States.
The report said the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022. Four healthcare workers were affected in week six.
It was also announced that the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) had been activated to coordinate the response activities at all levels.