Update on Lassa fever in Nigeria
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has provided a situation report on the ongoing Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria, reporting that in the week of 19-25 February, 54 new confirmed cases of the disease were recorded.
The cases were reported in these eight states: Edo (21), Ondo (nine), Nasarawa (two), Ebonyi (18), Plateau (one), Kogi (one), Imo (one) and Ekiti (one), with 10 new deaths in confirmed cases from Ondo (two), Edo (two), Plateau (one), Ekiti (one) and Ebonyi (where there were four confirmed cases and two probable deaths).
According to the report, from 1 January to 25 February, 1,081 suspected cases and 90 deaths were reported from 18 states, and case fatality rate in confirmed and probable cases is 22 per cent.
The report also states that the World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up its support of the response at national and state levels, while NCDC is collaborating with the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Edo, Ondo and Anambra States to support case management. NCDC has also deployed teams to Kebbi, Kwara, Niger and Oyo for enhanced surveillance activities, while the national Lassa fever multi-partner multi-agency Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) continues to co-ordinate the response activities at all levels.