The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed the increase in the number of Lassa fever cases reported in the country since the beginning of 2020.
In its weekly situation report for third week of January (from 1st to 19th) which was released on Thursday, 163 cases of the disease and 24 deaths have so far been confirmed in nine states.
The centre says this figure is expected to rise as more states have reported cases of the disease.
On Wednesday, Kano state had announced that three people had died from the disease.
Enugu state has also confirmed the death of one person from lassa fever.
Lassa fever remains a major public health challenge in West Africa with Nigeria bearing the highest burden.
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The disease occurs all year round, however, more cases are usually recorded during the dry season (from November to May).
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) caused by Lassa virus. The natural carrier of the virus is the multimammate rat, but, the disease is also spread through human to human transmission.
Lassa fever is transmitted from the excreta or urine of the multimammate rat. Anyone who is suspected of being in contact with a lassa fever patient must be medically treated within a period of 21 days.
The number of new confirmed cases in week three increased from 64 to 81, mainly in six states: Ondo, Edo, Delta, Taraba, Plateau and Bauchi.
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The report highlighted that nine states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 32 local government areas.
It also stated that the predominant age-group affected is 11-40 years and the male to female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:1.
With the increasing number of Lassa fever cases in the country and death among health workers, NCDC has called on all health workers to ensure caution when dealing with patients, to prevent person to person transmission.
The agency also advised doctors, nurses and other health workers providing direct patient care to ensure standard precautions.
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To reduce the risk of Lassa fever, NCDC has advised all healthcare workers to practice and maintain standard precautions at all times while handling patients and body fluids.
