Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, has disclosed that at least 150 persons have died from Lassa fever between January and March 2024, in 125 Local Government Areas, in 27 states of the federation.
This was contained in the NCDC Lassa Fever Situation Report Epi Week 13: 25th – 31st March 2024.
The agency said out of a total of 5,295 suspected cases reported, 806 were confirmed.
It said cumulatively from week 1 to week 13, 2024, the deaths were reported with a case fatality rate of 18.6 percent which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2023, 17.5 percent.
The report showed that in week 13, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 25 in Epi week 12, 2024 to 15. These cases, the agency, were reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Plateau and Edo States.
In total for 2024, 27 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 125 LGAs, even as 62 percent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states, while 38 percent of cases were reported from 24 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.
NCDC noted that of the 62 percent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 24 percent, Edo 22 percent, and Bauchi 16 percent. The predominant age group affected is 31-40 years (Range: 1 to 98 years, Median Age: 32years), with a male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases of 1:1.
The report said the number of suspected cases, 5,295 increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2023, 4,338.
The agency confirmed that the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System has been activated to coordinate response at all levels at the Emergency Operations Centre .
However, the report revealed that no new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 13.
