By The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced on Monday that Lassa Fever has killed no fewer than 85 victims in the first six weeks of 2023.
NCDC, which disclosed this on Monday in its Lassa Fever Situation Report for epi week six, said 74 per cent of all confirmed cases were reported from three States.
The states according to the report are Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi, adding that 26 per cent were reported from six states with confirmed cases.
“Of the 74 percent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 36 percent, Edo 31 percent and Bauchi seven per cent.
“In week six, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 106 in week five 2023 to 68 cases. These were reported from Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Ebonyi, Gombe, Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau States.
“Cumulatively from week one to week six, 2023, 85 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 16.0 percent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (16.5 percent).
“In total for 2023, 20 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 79 LGAs,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, it said the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022.
“Four new healthcare workers were affected at the end of sixth week of the year, while the national Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) had been activated to coordinate the response activities at all levels.”
