The Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention released their Lassa fever epidemiological report for week 12, which recorded 823 confirmed cases out of 4,108 suspected cases from 98 local government areas in 24 states in Nigeria.
During the same period, it has been reported that 144 individuals have succumbed to the disease. Additionally, the Case Fatality Ratio has been calculated to be 17.5%. Furthermore, 38 healthcare workers have been affected by the disease thus far this year.
Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, which humans usually contract through exposure to food or household items contaminated with the urine or feces of infected Mastomys rats, according to the World Health Organisation.
The disease is endemic in the rodent population in parts of West Africa, including Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Nigeria, and may exist in other West African countries.
The Lassa fever report revealed that new confirmed cases have increased from 38 to 39 cases in week 12, 2023, and 144 deaths have been reported cumulatively from week 1 to week 12, 2023.
Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states reported 72 percent of all confirmed cases, with Ondo reporting 32 percent, Edo 29 percent, and Bauchi 11 percent.