By Bamidele Fashube
ABUJA (GVE) – ABOUT 103 people have reportedly died of the Lassa fever outbreak in less than two months, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said.
According to a report released by the centre, the number of confirmed cases in 2020 stood at 586, with the death figure recorded in 16 states.
The affected states are; Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi, Kano, Kogi, Kaduna, Taraba, Plateau, Bauchi, Enugu, Abia, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Sokoto and Katsina.
Edo state according to the report, was said to have the highest burden of confirmed cases at 35 per cent, followed by Ondo at 32 per cent, and Ebonyi at six per cent.
In total for this year, 26 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 101 local government areas.
The report says: “Cumulatively from week one to week 07, 2020, 103 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 17.6 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2019 (21.1 per cent).
“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (range: <1 to 78 years, median age: 33 years). The male to female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:1.2.
“The number of suspected cases has significantly increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2019.”
The report adds that two new healthcare workers were affected in Bauchi and Katsina states in reporting week 07.
