According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 170 deaths associated with Lassa fever have been reported between week one and week 27 of 2023.
The case fatality rate (CFR) for the reported deaths is 17.2%, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (19.6%).
The NCDC released the most recent Week 25–27 update on the outbreak of the Lassa virus in Nigeria on Monday, according to News About Nigeria.
In epidemiological Week 26, 2023, there were 10 new confirmed cases; in Week 27, there were only six cases, according to the update. States in Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi, and Benue reported this.
In total for 2023, 108 Local Government Areas in 28 states have at least one confirmed case.
The NCDC also revealed that these three states (Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi) accounted for 73% of all confirmed Lassa fever cases, while 25 other states with confirmed cases accounted for 27% of all cases.
Ondo reported 33% of the 73% verified cases, Edo reported 29%, and Bauchi reported 11%.
The paper states that the age range most commonly impacted is 21 to 30 years (range: 1 to 93 years, median age: 32 years). For confirmed cases, the male-to-female ratio is 1:0.9.
It added that no new healthcare worker was impacted in the reporting Week 27, but that the number of suspected cases had grown compared to what had been reported for the same period in 2022.
The Technical Working Group (TWG) for the National Lassa Fever continues to coordinate the response efforts at all levels, according to the NCDC.
