NCDC Records 846 Lassa Fever Cases, 148 Deaths

NCDC Records 846 Lassa Fever Cases, 148 Deaths

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 846 Lassa fever cases across 99 Local Government Areas in 25 states.

The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years and the male-to-female ratio for the confirmed cases is 10:9.

Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses.

Humans usually become infected with the Lassa virus through exposure to food or household items contaminated with the urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats. The disease is endemic in the rodent population in parts of West Africa.

Lassa fever remains a major public health challenge as poor environmental sanitation, poor awareness, and late presentation of cases are reported to fuel the epidemic in Nigeria.

The NCDC, in its week 13 situation report on Thursday, said the suspected cases is now 4,338 and the disease has killed no fewer than 148 persons in the country.

With the current death toll, the agency noted that the case-fatality ratio of the outbreak stood at 17.5 per cent.

The report showed that the 23 new cases recorded from March 27 to April 2, 2023, were recorded from Bauchi, Ondo, Edo, Taraba, Ebonyi, Oyo and Kebbi States.