Lassa fever spreads to 23 states, kills 142

…Ebonyi, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, others worse-hit

NO FEWER than 142 people have died as new wave of Lassa fever spreads to 23 states since January, cutting across 97 local government areas.

  A post on Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC)’s official website, yesterday, showed that each of the 23 states recorded at least one death among 10 confirmed cases.

  According to the report, Ebonyi, Ondo and Edo States lead in both infection and death rates.

  “About 71 per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases and deaths related to them were reported from four states namely: Ebonyi, Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi, while 29 per cent were reported from six states with confirmed Lassa fever cases. Of the 71 per cent confirmed cases, Ebonyi reported 32 per cent, Edo 29 per cent and Ondo 10 per cent. The number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022 with predominant age group affected ranging between 21 and 30 years,” the post reads.