No fewer than 104 local government areas in 26 Nigerian states have recorded cases of Lassa Fever.

This is contained in the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Situation Report for Week 40 which was released on Tuesday.

The Lassa fever Situation Report for Week 40 (October 3-9, 2022) says the outbreak has killed 173 people in the country so far this year.

There have been 6883 suspected cases of the disease in 2022, 937 confirmed cases, and a case-fatality ratio of 18.5 per cent.

It noted that the disease has spread to 26 states and 104 local government areas.

In comparison, at Week 40 in 2021, there were 3271 suspected cases, 386 confirmed cases, 89 confirmed deaths and a 23.1 per cent case fatality ratio.

Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever and an acute viral illness. This zoonotic disease has a high morbidity and mortality rate, as well as economic, health and security implications.

Of all the confirmed cases, the NCDC said 71 per cent are from Ondo State (representing 33 per cent), followed by Edo State (representing 25 per cent), and Bauchi trailing behind (representing 13 per cent).

The report says, “In week 40, the number of new confirmed cases is the same as reported in week 39, 2022 to four cases.

These were reported from Ondo, Bauchi and Ekiti States,” the report read in part,

“Cumulatively from week one to week 40, 2022, 173 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 18.5 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (23.1 per cent).

“In total for 2022, 26 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 104 Local Government Areas.

“Of all confirmed cases, 71 per cent are from Ondo (33 per cent), Edo (25 per cent), and Bauchi (13 per cent) 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 worker affected in the reporting week 40. National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group continues to coordinate the response activities at all levels.”