Nigeria’s NCDC confirms 40 new cases of Lassa fever infections, five deaths

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC has confirmed 40 new Lassa fever infections and five deaths in one week, spanning 27 February to 5 March.

According to the latest situation report published on its website on Tuesday for week nine, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 59 in week eight to 40 cases.

The report also showed that the new cases were reported from Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Ebonyi states.

NCDC noted that cumulatively from week one to week nine, 109 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 16.1 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (18.6 per cent).

According to the NCDC, 22 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 89 Local Government Areas, with 72 per cent of all confirmed cases reported from three states of Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi.

The disease control centre noted that Ondo State has so far accounted for 33 per cent of all confirmed cases, while Edo and Bauchi accounted for 29 and 10 per cent respectively.

It also maintained that the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022, adding that one new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week.

The NCDC added in the report that the challenges with response to Lassa fever in the country include late presentation of cases leading to an increase in CFR, poor health-seeking behaviour due to the high cost of treatment and clinical management of the infection, poor environmental sanitation conditions, and poor awareness observed in high-burden communities.