The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reports that there are now 989 confirmed cases of Lassa fever in Nigeria.
As of November 20, 2022, there were additionally 7,492 suspected cases of the illness.
Additionally, it was noted in the NCDC’s situation report for week 46 that the disease had already claimed 178 lives in 2022.
The report claims that Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states accounted for 71% of all confirmed cases.
The Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses, is the source of Lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic sickness.
According to the study, there were just 4 new confirmed cases in week 46 as opposed to 10 in week 45 of 2022. States in Ondo, Edo, and Benue reported these.
“Overall, 178 deaths have been reported from week 1 to week 46 of 2022, with a case fatality rate of 18.0%, which is lower than the CFR for the same time in 2021. (21.1 percent).
“In all for 2022, 107 Local Government Areas in 26 States have reported at least one confirmed case.
“Of all confirmed cases, 71% are from the states of Bauchi (12%), Ondo (33%) and Edo (26%) respectively.
“Affected people are mostly between the ages of 21 and 30.” (Range: 0 to 90 years, Median Age:30 years). For confirmed cases, the male-to-female ratio is 1:0.8.
“Compared to what was reported for the same period in 2021, there are more suspicious instances.
“In the reporting week 46, no new healthcare workers were impacted.
The National Lassa Fever Technical Working Group is still in charge of coordinating the response efforts at all levels.
The NCDC claimed to have worked in conjunction with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and the World Health Organization, and the Africa Centre for Disease Control in a workshop towards accelerating the licensures of Lassa fever vaccines.