One death and 15 new confirmed cases of Lassa fever have been reported within one week across the country, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has announced.
This is according to a situation report for Week 13 published on its website on Friday.
There is a decrease in the number of confirmed cases from 25 cases in Week 12 to 15 cases in the reporting week.
From Week one to 13, the report explained that the country recorded 806 confirmed cases and 150 deaths, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.6 per cent, higher than the CFR for the same period in 2023 (17.5 per cent).
It noted that twenty-five states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 125 local government areas in 2024.
It said, “Sixty-two per cent of all confirmed cases were recorded from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi, with Ondo State accounting for 24 per cent, Edo 22 per cent, and Bauchi 16 per cent.”
No health worker was infected in the reporting week.
The report added that individuals between the ages of 31 and 40 were predominantly affected by the infection.
The National Lassa Fever Multi-partner, Multi-sectoral Incident Management System, according to the report, had been activated to coordinate responses at all levels at the Emergency Operations Centre.
Some challenges in the fight against Lassa fever, as highlighted by the NCDC included the late presentation of cases, leading to increased CFR and poor health-seeking behaviour.
