Nigeria Confirms 48 Lassa Fever Cases In One Week

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 48 cases of Lassa fever in the country in 2022.

This is according to the NCDC’s epidemiological report for January 3 to January 9 published on the agency’s website.

According to the update, the new cases were confirmed in 10 states and 22 local government areas in Nigeria. Bauchi (29%), Edo (27%), and Ondo (23%) states account for 79 per cent of the cases.

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“In week 1, the number of new confirmed cases increased from 28 in week 52, 2021 to 48 cases. These were reported from Bauchi, Edo, Ondo, Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Cross River, and Ebonyi states,” it added.

“Cumulatively as of week 1, 2022, 2 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.2% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (22.2%).”

The update further read that, “the predominant age-group affected is 31-40 years (Range: 3 to 70 years, Median Age: 31.5 years). The male to female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.9. The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021. One new Healthcare worker affected from Benue State in the reporting week 1.”

A few days back, the agency had issued an alert about the disease to some states on the disturbing trend of Lassa fever outbreak in the country.

In the update, it had noted that 102 infected people died from the disease in 2021.