Ondo, Edo and Bauchi States are leading the Lassa fever infections chart as confirmed cases from the disease stand at 842 with 160 deaths.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control disclosed this in its latest situation report on the outbreak of the disease in the country.

Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever and an acute viral illness and the zoonotic disease has a high morbidity and mortality rate and economic and health security implications.

Data from the report for Week 27, which covered July 4 to 10, revealed that there were 5649 suspected cases of the disease in the week under review.

“In week 27, the number of new confirmed cases increased from 9 in week 26, 2022 to 13 cases. These were reported from Ondo, Edo, Plateau, and Anambra States.

“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 27, 2022, 160 deaths have been reported with case fatality rate (CFR) of 19.0% which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (23.7%).

“In total for 2022, 24 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 99 Local Government Areas.

“Of all confirmed cases, 69% are from Ondo (30%), Edo (25%), and Bauchi (14%) States.

“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 0 to 90 years, Median Age:30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8.

“The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021.”

The report also revealed that no new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week.

Meanwhile, the NCDC has deployed the National Rapid Respond Teams to Nasarawa, FCT, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Oyo, Taraba, and Benue States.