Through its weekly reports, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, has revealed that deaths as a result of Lassa fever outbreak in the country have risen to 93 in 2019 already.
The report specifically indicated that a total of 1,374 suspected cases have been recorded, while 93 persons are confirmed to have died from the disease in 21 states across the country.
As at 3rd of March, some cases were recorded in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The institution confirmed 39 cases from six states between 25th of February and 3rd of March, where eight persons eventually died in Edo, Ondo, and Kogi states.
While reacting to the increment in the number of Lassa fever cases across the country, the Director General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, explained that more cases have even been reported this week than in the last four weeks, indicating that the disease is spreading farther. Thereafter, he mentioned that the rate of the spread is actually slower when compared to what was witnessed in 2018.
The NCDC report read, “From January 1 to March 3, 2019, a total of 1,374 suspected cases have been reported in the country out of which 420 were confirmed positive, 15 probable and 939 negatives.
“Since the onset of the 2019 outbreak, there have been 93 deaths in confirmed cases. This makes the case fatality ratio in confirmed cases to 22.1 percent.”
The states where cases of Lassa fever have already been recorded in 2019 are Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Plateau, Taraba, FCT, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Benue, Rivers, Kogi, Enugu, Imo, Delta, Oyo, Kebbi and Cross River.
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