Lassa Fever Spreads To 33 States, 1,447 Cases Recorded

The Lassa fever virus has reportedly spread to 33 states, as the National Centre for Disease Control disclosed that a total of 1,447 suspected cases of Lassa fever have been recorded. It was further disclosed that since the outbreak, there had been 93 deaths, with case fatality ratio in the confirmed cases put at 22.1 per cent.

The latest report also revealed that 20 states, together with the FCT, had recorded at least one confirmed case across 66 local government areas.Affected states include Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Benue, Rivers, Kogi, Enugu, Imo, Delta, Oyo, Kebbi and Cross River states with the FCT. Speaking with SUNDAY PUNCH, the  Incident Manager, National Emergency Operation Centre, Ms Chioma Dan-Nwafor said the Federal Government in its effort to curb the disease had established treatment centres in the states where the disease was prevalent across the country. She further disclosed that many of the affected cases were on 21-day surveillance.