Just In: Nigeria Records 11 Deaths, 96 Lassa Fever Cases In Two Weeks
No fewer than 11 people have died of Lassa fever since the beginning of the new year, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said.
The NCDC disclosed this in its latest situation report on the outbreak of the disease in the country, covering January 10 to 16, 2022.
“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 2, 2022, 11 deaths have been reported with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 11.5% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (17.4%),” it said in the report.
The report suggested that a total of 465 suspected cases of the disease were reported across 27 local government areas of 11 states.
Of the figure, the NCDC only confirmed 96 cases and 74 per cent were recorded in three states of Edo (31 per cent), Bauchi (22 per cent), and Ondo (21 per cent).
“The predominant age-group affected is 21-40 years (Range: 3 to 72 years, Median Age: 30 years),” the report added. “The male to female ratio for confirmed cases is 1 : 0.8. The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021.
“National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group (TWG) continues to coordinate the response activities at all levels.”
