Lassa Fever: NCDC Records 1,279 Suspected Cases, 83 Deaths In 2019

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has registered 83 deaths, 381 confirmed cases and 1,279 suspected cases of Lassa fever in 2019.

Dr Kola Jinadu, Senior Technical Adviser to the NCDC Chief Executive Officer, disclosed this to News Agency of Nigeria in Jos on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a health journalism masterclass organised by NIGERIA HEALTHWATCH, a non-governmental organisation.

The senior technical adviser said the centre also has 12 probable cases, adding that the cases cut across 21 states of the country.

“We so far have 21 states with active Lassa fever cases with fatality ratio of 21.8 per cent.

“In the efforts to treat the infected persons and check the spread of the disease, 15 healthcare workers were infected with the disease during the period under review,’’ he said.

He said, however, that there was a decline in the number of reported cases in recent weeks.

Jinadu said that a national multi-partner, multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre led by NCDC will continue to coordinate the response activities.

He added that state EOCs have been activated in Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi and Plateau states.

The national rapid response team comprising the NCDC, the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Environment were working in some of the affected states like Oyo, Edo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Plateau and Taraba.

“Case guidelines are regularly reviewed and disseminated to stakeholders,’’ he added.

(NAN