The number of confirmed cases of Lassa fever in the country has increased to 973 in the 15th week of 2020 from the 963 cases recorded in the 14th week, says the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
It said the 10 new cases were reported from Edo, Ondo, Kogi, Nasarawa and Plateau states.
The centre made the disclosure in its latest situation report (Week 15) on the disease published on Friday.
The breakdown of the disease’s confirmed cases showed that while 27 states had recorded at least one confirmed case each, Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi alone accounted for 73 per cent of the confirmed cases.
About 127 local government areas also have at least one confirmed case each.
There is however no record of death in Week 15, leaving the death toll at 188 for this year.
The report read, “In Week 15, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 12 cases in Week 14, 2020 to 10 cases. These were reported from five states (Edo, Ondo, Kogi, Nasarawa and Plateau).
“Cumulatively from Week 1 to Week 15, 2020, 188 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 19.3 per cent, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2019 (22.6 per cent).
“In total for 2020, 27 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 127 local government areas.
“The number of suspected cases has significantly increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2019. No new healthcare worker was affected in Week 15.”
Lassa fever is a disease spread to humans through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces.
