Lassa fever kills 15 in Ondo, Ebonyi as 2020 death toll hits 212

Samson Toromade 13:08 - 13 June 2020

Samples of rodents that spread Lassa fever - a cousin of Ebola - are displayed at the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control in Irrua, Nigeria

Nigeria has recorded a total of 1,026 Lassa fever cases in 27 states in 2020.

15 people died from Lassa fever infection in Nigeria in the final week of May 2020, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The acute viral haemorrhagic illness, caused by rodents, killed nine people in Ondo, and six people in Ebonyi as observed by Pulse in the Week 23 situation report released by the NCDC on Saturday, June 13.

The agency had failed to publish a report for Week 22 (May 25 to May 31), the period when the 15 fatalities and six new cases were recorded.

No new deaths were recorded in Week 23 (June 1 to June 7), with only five new cases in Ondo (3), and Edo (2).

86 suspected cases in Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, and Ondo also returned negative results in Week 23, according to the situation report.

However, the death toll jumped from 197 in the Week 21 report, to 212 in the Week 23 report, the case fatality rate shooting up from 19.4% to 20.7%.

The total number of cases recorded since January 2020 now stands at 1,026, detected in 129 local government areas across 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The NCDC declared in April that the emergency phase of the 2020 Lassa fever outbreak was over because its case count dropped below levels considered to be a national emergency.

However, the agency's Director-General, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said Nigeria would continue to record Lassa fever cases even though the country had passed its usual January to April peak period.

Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu [Twitter/@Chikwe_I]

NCDC's Director-General, Chikwe Ihekweazu, says authorities are working on a Lassa fever vaccine [Twitter/@Chikwe_I]

Ondo has recorded the highest number of cases with 337, closely followed by Edo (332), Ebonyi (76), and Taraba (56).

Ondo has also recorded the highest number of deaths with 57, followed by Edo with 39, Ebonyi with 22, and Taraba with 21.

Other states affected are Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Delta, Enugu, FCT, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, and Sokoto.

Lagos, Ogun, Osun, and Oyo have recorded confirmed cases, but zero deaths during the course of the year.

Lassa fever infection can happen through contact with excreta or urine of rodents; contact with a probable or confirmed Lassa fever case within a period of 21 days of onset of symptoms; or any person with inexplicable bleeding/hemorrhagia.

Symptoms of Lassa fever include malaise, fever, headache, sore throat, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, myalgia, chest pain, and hearing loss.

The NCDC said in April's announcement that a large epidemiological study being implemented in Nigeria and other West African countries is expected to contribute to Lassa fever vaccine development.