Nigeria records 176 deaths from Lassa fever outbreak

Amidst the burden from COVID-19, Nigeria has recorded three new deaths from Lassa fever, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 176 since the outbreak in January.

This was contained in the latest Lassa fever situation report published last night by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The report shows that within the last one week, 28 new cases have been recorded while the total confirmed cases in the country are 932 since the last 12 weeks.

Of the 28 new confirmed cases since the past one week, Edo and Ondo states had the highest with eight and five cases respectively.

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.

"Of the 932 recorded cases since January, patients currently being managed in the country are 48."

The report also showed that since the past five years, the burden of the outbreak is highest this year.