With 676 confirmed cases dispersed throughout 89 local government districts in 22 states of Nigeria, lassa fever has persisted there.
This was disclosed in the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s Lassa fever situation report for week nine, covering the period from January 5 to March 5, 2023.
According to the study, there have now been 109 fatalities as opposed to the earlier 104.
The public health institution observed that with the current mortality toll, the outbreak’s case-fatality ratio was 16.1%.
According to the NCDC, 28% of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from two states, while 72% of cases were recorded from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi.
Ondo reported 33% of the 72% verified cases, Edo reported 29%, and Bauchi reported 10%.
The Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses, is said to be the cause of Lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic sickness, according to the World Health Organization. The most common way for humans to contract the Lassa virus is through contact with food or household items that have been tainted by the urine or feces of infected Mastomys rats. In some regions of West Africa, the disease is endemic among the rodent population.
There are eight West African nations where lassa fever is known to be endemic: Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Nigeria.
According to reports, the epidemic in Nigeria is fueled by poor environmental sanitation, a lack of awareness, and late case presentations. From 59 in week 8 2023 to 40 in week 9, there were fewer new confirmed cases. States in Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Ebonyi reported these. A total of 109 deaths have been reported from week 1 through week 9 of 2023, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 16.1%, which is lower than the CFR for the same time in 2022. (18.6 per cent).
The impacted age range is primarily between 21 and 30. (Range: 1 to 93 years, Median Age: 32 years). For confirmed instances, the male-to-female ratio is 10.8.
