By Haruna Gimba
The new outbreak of Lassa fever has claimed 31 lives since the beginning of 2019 with 377 suspected cases in nine states.
A situation report released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said between January 14 to 20, 74 new confirmed cases were reported from Edo, Ondo , Bauchi , Ebonyi, Plateau, Taraba and Adamawa states.
The report said that twelve new deaths were recorded in Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi, Plateau, Taraba and Adamawa during the period. A healthcare worker was also affected in Ebonyi State.
According to the report, nine states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 29 local government areas, and that 136 cases were confirmed positive and 240 negative out of the 377 suspected cases reported since January.
The Director, Public Health and Human Service Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Dr Humphrey Okoroukwu said that from November 2018 to date, it responded and investigated 14 cases comprising six females and four males.
