Lassa Fever: No new health worker infected – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said  no new healthcare worker is infected  in the reporting week 52 of the Lassa Fever in the country.

The NCDC via its official website, on Saturday, said  the 52nd-week report from December  26 to January 1, showed that the country’s suspected cases of Lassa Fever were 8,202.

It said while there were no reported cases for health workers in the reporting week, about 63 healthcare workers were infected by the disease in the country.

The public health agency said that the country’s confirmed cases for 2022 now stood at 1,067, spread across 112 local government areas and 27 states of the federation.

It said that the death toll from the Lassa Fever outbreak in the country also stood at 189.

It however said that the suspected cases were 8,202.

“In week 52, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 17 in week 51, 2022, to 12 cases. These were reported from Edo, Ebonyi and Benue states.

Cumulatively from week one to week 52, 2022, 189 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 17.7 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (20.0 per cent).

“Seventy-two per cent of all confirmed Lassa Fever cases were reported from these three states (Ondo, Edo and Bauchi) while 23 per cent were reported from 24 states with confirmed Lassa Fever cases.

“Of the 72 per cent of confirmed cases, Ondo State reported 33 per cent,

25 per cent, and Bauchi 14 per cent.

“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (range: 1 to 90 years, median age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8.

The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021,” it explained.