The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has to blow alarm that the dreaded Lassa fever has killed about 118 Nigerians in the last 8 weeks. The commission said the interim report figure covered only from 1st January to February 23, 2020.
It was revealed that no fewer than 2,633 cases of Lassa fever have been reported since the beginning of the year 2020, out of which 689 of the case were tested positive.
The NCDC further revealed the cases were reported from 115 local government areas from across 27 states of the federation.
It said in the eight weeks under consideration from February 17 – 23, 2020, 102 out of 456 reported cases were from 46 Local Governments area in 18 states and were confirmed.
The states consist of; Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Sokoto, Taraba, Delta, Rivers, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Ondo, Ebonyi, Edo, Bauchi, Plateau, Benue, Lagos, and Enugu states,
Meanwhile, four Health workers from Edo and Ondo states were also reported to have been infected this week, saying the cases recorded this year has outweighed the cases recorded in the previous year, 2019, the commission added.
During January of this year, the Health Minister has expressed determination to arrest the situation.
While attending to pressmen in Abuja, the Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire said the government has heightened response against the disease outbreak across the length and breadth of this country.
In his statement, his Ministry has the capacity to detect, assess and respond to corona Virus and other Public Health emergencies.
Meanwhile, in Kaduna state, the Commissioner of Health, Amina Baloni reported that two other cases were hospitalised in Kaduna Infectious Disease Control Centre (IDCC).
She revealed the patient is a forty years old man recorded last Friday at Ahmadu Bello Teaching hospital, Zaria.
And he is currently receiving treatment at the IDCC.
Kaduna state has recorded a total of eight confirmed infections out of the 74 suspected to be Lassa fever.
