Lassa Fever: Nigeria Confirms 12 New Cases, Total Toll Reaches 963 –- NCDC

• Says 27 States Reported At Least One Case Across 126 LGAs

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control(NCDC) has announced that the country has recorded 12 new Lassa Fever cases, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 963 in 2020.

The NCDC stated this in its ‘Week 14 report’ made available on its website on Thursday, noting 12 new cases were recorded between March 30 and April 5 , 2020.

The Centre also said 188 deaths have been reported in the country this year .

The report read in part; “In week 14 , the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 19 cases in week 13, 2020 to 12 cases . These were reported from five states – Edo , Ondo , Ebonyi , Bauchi , and Sokoto.

“Cumulatively from week one to week 14, 2020, 188 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 19 . 5 percent which is lower than the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) for the same period in 2019 – 22 . 7 percent.

“In total for 2020, 27 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 126 Local Government Areas.

“ Of all 963 confirmed cases , 72 percent are from Edo ( 32 per cent ), Ondo ( 32 percent ) and Ebonyi ( eight percent ) states.

“ The predominant age – group affected is 21 -30 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.

No new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 14 .”