Lassa Fever Claims 72 Lives Nationwide in the First Six Weeks of 2024 Says NCDC

The deadly Lassa fever has killed 72 persons nationwide within the first six weeks of 2024, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).

The deaths, according to the data on the website of the center were recorded in 21 states.

According to the data, the deaths were from 411 confirmed cases of the disease.

The data indicated that 65 percent of the cases were from Ondo, Edo and Bauchi states, while the remaining 35 per cent were from 18 states.

Most of the victims of the disease were aged from 21 to 30 years.

Read Also:

NCDC Identifies Ogun, Three Other States as Epicentre of Cholera This Year

Sixty-five per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from these three states (Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi) while 35 per cent were reported from 17 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.

Of the 65% confirmed cases, Ondo reported 24%, Edo 23%, and Bauchi 18%.

The centre noted that the predominant age group affected is 21-30 years, and the male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:1.

It added that the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period
in 2023, and two new Healthcare workers were affected in the reporting week.

It, however, said the National Lassa fever multi-partner and the multi-sectoral Incident Management System have been activated to coordinate response at all levels at the Emergency Operations Centre.