The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention revealed on Thursday that Lassa fever has claimed a minimum of 162 lives since the beginning of 2023. Reports indicate that the disease has affected 28 states, including Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Ebonyi, Nassarawa, Kogi, Taraba, Gombe, Enugu, Kano, Jigawa, Oyo, and the FCT, among others.In the NCDC’s 16th-week report on Lassa fever, released on May 1, 2023, it was revealed that Nigeria had recorded a mortality toll of 154. Additionally, there were 897 confirmed cases and a total of 4,908 suspected cases. The confirmed cases were reported in 26 states and 103 local government areas between January 1 and April 23, 2023.
In its 20th-week report on Lassa fever, shared on its Twitter handle (@NCDCgov) on Thursday, the Centre disclosed that a total of 944 confirmed cases and 5,593 suspected cases of the disease have been recorded since January 2023. The report also stated that from week 1 to week 20, there have been 162 reported deaths, resulting in a case fatality rate of 17.2%, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (19.8%). Furthermore, the report mentioned that 28 states have reported at least one confirmed case across 106 LGAs in 2023.
