Lassa Fever: NCDC Confirms 162 Deaths First-Half 2023

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, on Thursday, informed that Lassa fever has killed no less than 162 persons since the start of year 2023.

The number of states said to have recorded death toll to the ravaging disease is put at 28. They are – Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Ebonyi, Nassarawa, Kogi, Taraba, Gombe, Enugu Kano, Jigawa, Oyo and FCT, among others.

It was reported on May 1, 2023, that the mortality toll of Lassa fever in Nigeria was disclosed to be 154 while it recorded 897 confirmed cases and a total of 4,908 suspected cases.

In its 16th-week Lassa fever situation report, the NCDC explained that the 897 confirmed cases were recorded from 26 states and 103 local government areas from January 1 to April 23, 2023.

The Centre, on Thursday, disclosed this in its 20th-week Lassa fever situation report shared on its Twitter handle (@NCDCgov), adding that 944 confirmed cases and 5, 593 suspected cases of the disease were recorded so far since January 2023.

“Cumulatively, from week 1 to week 20, 2023, 162 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 17.2% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (19.8%).

“In total, for 2023, 28 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 106 LGAs,” the centre’s 20th-week report read.

It maintained that, “the number of suspected cases increased, compared to that reported for the same period in 2022.”