Throughout 111 local government areas and 27 states in Nigeria, there have been 1,038 confirmed cases of lassa fever and 183 fatalities.
According to the week 50 Lassa fever situation report, which we acquired on Friday from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, this is the case.
Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states carried 75% of the illness burden, according to the data, which also stated that there were 7,981 suspected cases of the virus as of December 18, up from the previous 7,907 cases.
A member of the arenavirus family of viruses, the Lassa virus is the primary cause of lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic disease.
One in five infections result in a serious illness when the virus damages many organs including the liver, spleen, and kidneys. Around 80% of persons who contract the virus do not exhibit any symptoms.
According to the NCDC report, “In week 50, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 13 in week 49 2022 to 10 cases. These were reported from Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, and Kogi States. Cumulatively from week one to week 50 in 2022, 183 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 17.6 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (20.3 per cent).
“In total for 2022, 27 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 111 local government areas. Of all confirmed cases, 71 per cent are from Ondo (33 per cent), Edo (25 per cent), and Bauchi (13 per cent) states.
“The predominant age group affected is 21 to 30 years (range: one 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.”
The Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group continued to manage the response efforts at all levels during reporting week 50, according to the agency, which stated that no new healthcare workers were affected.
The organization also mentioned that it has completed and validated the Lassa fever five-year strategic plan.
