According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Lassa fever has killed three persons in the last seven days.
The deaths which were from Ondo State have therefore increased the total number of deaths recorded in the country since the beginning of the year to 168, with 889 confirmed cases reported from 25 states of the Federation.
The latest epidemiological report from the NCDC goes thus, “In week 32 (August 8 to 14), the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 13 in week 31, 2022 to 9 cases. These were reported from Ondo, Edo, and Enugu states, cumulatively from week 1 to week 32, 2022, 168 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.9 percent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (23.4 percent).
“In total for 2022, 25 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 101 Local Government Areas.
“Of all confirmed cases, 70 percent are from Ondo (31 percent), Edo (26 percent), and Bauchi (13 percent) States. The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 0 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. No new healthcare workers were affected in the reporting week 32.
“National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group (TWG) continues to coordinate the response activities at all levels.”
To reduce the risk of the spread of Lassa fever, the NCDC offers the following advice: Ensure proper environmental sanitation – that is, keep your environment clean at all times, block all holes in your house to prevent rats from entry; Cover your dustbins and dispose of refuse properly. Communities should set up dumpsites very far from their homes to reduce the chances of having rodents within homes; Store foodstuff like rice, garri, beans, corn/maize, etc in containers that are well covered with tight-fitting lids.
