Lassa fever has so far killed 162 persons across 28 states since the beginning of this year, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
In a situation report released on Thursday, the NCDC said 944 confirmed cases and 5, 593 suspected cases of the disease were recorded within the period.
The states include Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Ebonyi, Nassarawa, Kogi, Taraba, Gombe, Enugu Kano, Jigawa, Oyo and FCT, among others.
The report said,” Cumulatively, from week 1 to week 20, 2023, 162 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 17.2% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (19.8%). In total for 2023, 28 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 106 LGAs.”
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The report said 72 per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases in 2023 were reported from Ondo, Edo and Bauchi States; and 28 percent, were from 25 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.
It also said the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022.
It said one new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 20.
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