20.02.2025 13:21
The number of people who have died from Lassa fever in Nigeria has risen to 80 since the beginning of the year. The disease has spread to 63 local government areas across 11 states, and cases continue to rise.
The number of people who have died from Lassa fever, a disease transmitted from animals to humans in Nigeria, has risen to 80 since the beginning of the year. In a statement from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), it was noted that the Lassa fever outbreak has spread to 63 areas across 11 states of the country since the start of the year. The statement indicated that in 8 states of the country, 54 more cases of Lassa fever were reported between February 3-9, and 10 of these individuals died, bringing the total number of Lassa fever cases identified this year to 413, with the death toll rising to 80.
Thus, the mortality rate from this disease has increased from 17.5% during the same period in 2024 to 19.4%.
Due to the outbreak, 190 people died across the country last year.
TRANSMITTED THROUGH CONTACT WITH RODENT DROPPINGS
The Nigerian government declared a state of emergency due to Lassa fever on January 23, 2019. Lassa fever, which is seen in many African countries such as Mali, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, was first identified in Nigeria in 1969 in Borno state in the northeast of the country. The disease, which is transmitted through contact with rodent droppings, can spread from person to person and lead to fatal hemorrhagic fever. Authorities are warning the public to avoid contact with rats and other rodents.