Nigeria’s Lassa fever death toll rises to 188 as 963 persons infected
- Three more people have died from Lassa fever in Nigeria as the death toll rises to 188, according to the NCDC
- The agency also said that 12 more persons have been infected, bringing the total number of infected persons to 963
- Twenty-seven (27) states have recorded at least one confirmed case since the beginning of 2020
The death toll from the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has risen to 188, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
In its latest reports shared on Twitter on Thursday, April 9, the federal health agency said three more patients had died of Lassa fever as of Sunday, April 5, while 12 more persons had been infected.
Legit.ng gathers that the total number of infected persons in the country now stands at 963 with the new cases in recorded in Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Bauchi and Sokoto states.
A summary of the report shows that:
- Cumulatively from week 1 to week 14, 2020, 188 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 19.5% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2019 (22.7%).
- 27 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 126 local government areas since the beginning of 2020
- 72% of the confirmed cases are from Edo, Ondo (32%) and Ebonyi (8%) states.
- 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.
In week 13, the total number of deaths was 185, meaning three people died from the disease within the last week, Premium Times notes.
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Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr Aliyu Sokomba, confirmed that a medical doctor died of Lassa fever in Edo state.
Sokomba said on Wednesday, April 1, that the medical doctor who worked in Benue state died at the Irua Specialist Hospital in Edo state.
The doctor died due to complications of Lassa fever he contracted while treating infected patients.
Sokomba also noted that few other doctors have also lost their lives to the deadly disease.
Meanwhile, Nigeria's confirmed cases of the global pandemic, COVID-19, has risen to 288, with 51 recoveries and seven deaths as at Thursday evening, April 9.
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Source: Legit.ng
