Nigeria has recorded one new death from Lassa fever, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 176, which makes it a greater killer than Coronavirus desease, since the outbreak of the disease in January.
This was contained in the latest Lassa Fever Situation Report published yesterday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The report shows that within the last one week, 19 new cases have been recorded while the total confirmed cases in the country are 951 since the last 13 weeks.
Of the 19 new confirmed cases recorded since the past one week, Ondo and Ebonyi states had the highest with six and five cases respectively.
Other states with new cases are: Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Plateau, Kogi, and Delta.
For the week under review, no healthcare worker was affected.
The distribution of cases across the country also shows that only 10 states have so far not been affected by the outbreak since January.
The states are Zamfara, Niger, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Jigawa, Kwara, Cross Rivers and Imo and Yobe states.
“Of the 951 recorded cases since January, patients currently being managed in the country are 45.”
The report also showed that since the past five years, the fatality rate of the outbreak is highest this year.
Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic fever, is endemic in some parts of West Africa.