By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Nigerian CDC reported an additional 51 confirmed Lassa fever cases during the week ending March 15, bringing the total for the first 11 weeks of 2020 to 906.

Scanning electron micrograph of Lassa virus budding off a Vero cell.
Image/NIAID

During the same period in 2019, the African country saw 495.

The new confirmed cases were reported from 12 States (Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Taraba, Plateau, Kogi, Delta, Enugu, FCT, Nasarawa and Gombe).

Nine additional deaths in confirmed cases were also reported last week, bringing the number of fatalities to 161.

The number of healthcare workers infected rose to 34 with the addition of four new cases.

An astounding 3735  suspected cases have been reported year to date.

In February, the Nigeria Academy of Science (NAS) called on the national government to declare a national emergency.

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A total of 1,047 Nigerians have died of Lassa fever since the first reported case in 1969.

The President of NAS, Professor Kalu Onuoha, who made the declaration, said that over the past 50 years, Lassa fever has become a disease occurring in perennial outbreaks in nearly all the 36 States of Nigeria, with increasing numbers of suspected cases, dry season peaks, and unacceptably high case fatality rates.

Blood flukes in Black and White