The death toll for Lassa Fever in Nigeria from January 2021 has jumped to 92, with Bauchi and Ebonyi States recording new deaths. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed this yesterday in its latest situation report on the outbreak of the disease in the country.
According to the NCDC, week 50, which covered December 13 to 19, revealed that three more deaths were reported in the week under review.
While Bauchi reported two new fatalities, Ebonyi recorded one new death from the disease. “Cumulatively from Week 1 to Week 50, 2021, 92 deaths have been reported with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 20.3 per cent, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2020 (20.7 per cent),” it stated.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lassa fever is an acute viral illness and a viral haemorrhagic fever first reported in the Lassa community in Borno when two missionary nurses died from an unusual febrile illness.
Since then, Nigeria has continued to report cases and outbreaks and the disease is increasingly recognised to be endemic in many parts of West Africa such as Benin Republic, Ghana, Mali and the Mano River region (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea).
The agency noted that a total of 190 new cases were suspected in 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but just 10 cases were confirmed in four states.
Amongst others were; Edo – two, Ondo – four, Bauchi – three, and Ebonyi – one, and two of them are healthcare workers.