Lassa fever deaths hit 178, cases now 989

 The number of Lassa fever cases in Nigeria has increased to 989, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

The suspected cases of the disease also stand at 7,492 as of November 20, 2022.

The situation report for week 46 released by the NCDC on Friday also showed that the disease had claimed 178 lives so far in 2022.

According to the report, 71 percent of all confirmed cases were recorded in Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses.

The report read in part, “In week 46, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 10 in week 45, 2022 to 4 cases. These were reported from Ondo, Edo, and Benue States.

“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 46, 2022, 178 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 18.0 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (21.1 per cent).

“In total for 2022, 26 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 107 Local Government Areas.

“Of all confirmed cases, 71 per cent are from Ondo (33 per cent), Edo (26 per cent), and Bauchi (12 per cent) states.

“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 0 to 90 years, Median Age:30 years). 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.

“No new Healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 46.

“National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group continues to coordinate the response activities at all levels.”

Meanwhile, the NCDC said it collaborated with the World Health Organization, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, and Africa Centre for Disease Control in a workshop towards accelerating the licensures of Lassa fever vaccines.

Lassa fever deaths hit 178, cases now 989 - Punch Newspapers (punchng.com)