In Nigeria, there were 244 confirmed cases of Lassa fever in the first three weeks of 2023.
From January 16 to January 22, the nation reportedly reported 18 additional deaths caused by the virus, bringing the total death toll to 37 according to the third week’s Lassa fever situation report, which was obtained on Sunday from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control.
With a case fatality ratio of 15.1%, the cases were confirmed in 16 states and 50 local government areas.
In the meantime, there are currently 939 suspected cases of the virus, which is more than there were during the same period in 2022.
According to the NCDC data, there were 137 new confirmed cases in week three as opposed to 77 in week two of 2023.
These incidents have been reported in the states of Ondo, Edo, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Plateau, Kogi, Anambra, Delta, FCT, Adamawa, and Enugu.
“37 deaths have been reported overall from week one to week three of 2023, with a CFR of 15.1%, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022. (18.8 percent).
“Overall for 2023, 50 Local Government Areas in 16 states have at least one confirmed case.
“These three states—Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi—reported 79% of all confirmed Lassa fever cases, whereas 21% were reported from 13 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.”
40 people, including 26 adults and 14 children, who were diagnosed with the Lassa fever disease are still being admitted to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, according to Prof. Akoria Obehi, the Edo State Commissioner for Health.
On Sunday, Akoria said the patients were getting medical attention and were responding to the medication.
She added that 115 confirmed cases and 13 disease-related deaths have been reported for the state as a whole. The confirmed cases are spread out among the 11 local government councils in the state.