The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reports that there are now 989 confirmed cases of Lassa fever in Nigeria.
As of November 20, 2022, there were additionally 7,492 suspected cases of the illness.
Additionally, it was noted in the NCDC’s situation report for week 46 that the disease had already claimed 178 lives in 2022.
The report claims that Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states accounted for 71% of all confirmed cases.
The Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses, is the source of Lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic sickness.
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.”
The World Health Organization, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, and Africa Centre for Disease Control, according to the NCDC, participated in a workshop to speed up the licensing of Lassa fever vaccines.
