Lassa Fever: Nigeria Records 21 Deaths, 91 New Infections in One Week

In week seven of 2022, spanning between February 14 and 21, Nigeria recorded 21 additional fatalities and 91 new infections from Lassa fever, says the latest situation report released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The report, which was released at the weekend noted that the number of confirmed cases increased from 77 in the previous week to 91 in the reporting week.

The new cases, NCDC noted, were recorded in Edo and Delta; South-eastern states of Ebonyi and Enugu; Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe states in North-east; Kogi and Nasarawa states in North-central, and Ondo State in the South-west.

The centre further noted that cumulatively from the first week to the seventh week of 2022, 86 deaths have been reported so far with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 19.1 per cent. The agency said the new case fatality rate is lower than 27.5 per cent that was recorded for the same period in 2021.

NCDC added that a total of 450 people have been infected by Lassa fever, while there are currently 356 suspected cases across 74 Local Government Areas in 21 states of the federation.

The report shows that Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states accounted for 73 per cent of the confirmed cases.

Ondo State in the South-west topped the infection chart with 32 per cent, while Edo and Bauchi states accounted for 23 and 18 per cent of the infections respectively.

Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic (excessive bleeding) illness that is transmitted to humans through contact with food, household items contaminated by infected rodents or persons.

The vector of the disease is a rat species called the multimammate rat. The virus is transmitted from the excreta or urine of the vector to humans, and humans to humans, which often propagate the disease.

General symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, general body weakness, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains, chest pain, and in severe cases, unexplainable bleeding from ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and other body openings.