Abuja, April 26, 2023 – Nigeria has recorded more than 152 deaths from Lassa fever this year.
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) gave the statistics on Wednesday in its latest situation report.
It reported that there had been 788 confirmed cases of Lassa fever across the country in 2023.
The NCDC said the number of new confirmed cases sttod at nine in the current week from a peak of decreased of 23 in Week 14.
The new cases in Week 15 were recorded in Ondo, Edo and Bauchi States.
About 152 death cases were reported from Week 1 to week 15, 2023.
The agency reported that there were at least one confirmed case of Lassa fever this year in 26 states and in 101 local government areas.
Seven-two of the confirmed cases were reported from these three states of Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi, while 28 per cent were reported from 23 states.
Of the 72% confirmed cases, Ondo reported 32%, Edo 29%, and Bauchi 11%” the report read.
The agency reported 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. (GBN)
