Lassa Fever: NCDC Confirms 54 Cases, 10 Deaths In 7 Days

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 54 Lassa Fever cases and 10 Deaths between December 30, 2024, and January 5, 2025. This translates to an 18.5 per cent Case Fatality Rate (CFR).

The NCDC disclosed this on its official website on Monday, indicating that the figures were drawn from 196 suspected cases reported during the week.The confirmed cases were recorded across six states: Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Ebonyi, and Kogi, with 20 local government areas affected.

The data breakdown shows that 78% of the infections were reported in Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states. Ondo led with 35% of the cases, Edo with 28%, and Bauchi with 15%.

The report highlighted that the most affected age group was between 21 and 30, with a median age of 31.5. The male-to-female ratio stood at 1:0.6. Importantly, no healthcare workers were infected during this reporting period, a notable improvement compared to previous outbreaks.

In response to the rising cases, the NCDC said it has activated its National Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System to coordinate efforts in combating the outbreak.
In 2024, Nigeria recorded 9,685 suspected cases of Lassa fever, with 1,187 confirmed cases and 191 deaths across 28 states and 138 local government areas.

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Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic disease first identified in 1969 in Lassa village, Nigeria, is caused by the Lassa virus. The virus is primarily transmitted to humans through food or household items contaminated by the urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats, which is common in West Africa. Human-to-human transmission is also possible, particularly in healthcare settings lacking adequate infection control measures.

The disease, which infects hundreds of thousands annually across West Africa, presents symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and, in severe cases, bleeding.