The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 13 additional cases of Lassa fever from five states in seven days.

“In week 31 (August 1 to 7), the number of new confirmed cases increased from 10 in week 30, 2022, to 13 cases,” NCDC said in its epidemiological report on Monday. “These were reported from Ondo, Edo, Kogi, Ebonyi and Imo states.” 

The NCDC said since the beginning of 2022, 70 per cent of infections had come from Ondo (31 per cent), Edo (26 per cent), and Bauchi (13 per cent).

The public health agency said the country had recorded 165 deaths in 17 states.

“Cumulatively, from week 1 to week 31, 2022, 165 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.8 per cent, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (23.1 per cent). In total, for 2022, 25 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 100 Local Government Areas,” NCDC said.

It stated that the predominant age group affected were 21-30 years, adding that the male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases was 1:0.8.

“The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021. No new healthcare worker affected in the reporting week 31,” the agency added.

The number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021.

(NAN)