At least 92 Nigerians have died from Lassa fever since January 2021, with more deaths recorded in Bauchi and Ebonyi states.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed this on Tuesday in its latest situation report on the disease outbreak in Nigeria.
According to the NCDC, three more people died from the sickness in week 50, which ran from December 13 to December 19.
While Bauchi reported two new deaths from the sickness, Ebonyi reported one new fatality.
Nigeria has continued to report cases and outbreaks, and the disease is increasingly being recognized as endemic in many parts of West Africa, including the Benin Republic, Ghana, Mali, and the Mano River region (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea).
According to the agency, 190 additional cases were suspected in 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory, but only 10 were verified in four states.
Others were: Edo – two, Ondo – four, Bauchi – three, and Ebonyi – one, and two of them are healthcare workers.
The number of new confirmed cases, the agency stated, is the same as the figure reported in the previous week.
“In total for 2021, 17 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 66 Local Government Areas,” it said.
“Of all confirmed cases, Edo has (43 per cent), Ondo (35 per cent), and Taraba (five per cent).
“The predominant age group affected is between 21 and 30 years (range: 1 to 70 years, Median Age: 29 years). The male to female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.9. The number of suspected cases has decreased compared to that reported for the same period in 2020,” it added.
