Nigerian health officials recorded eight new confirmed Lassa fever cases in the past week, putting the country’s total to 408 confirmed and 9 probable cases since the beginning of the year. In addition, three new deaths were confirmed and one backlog case bringing the total to 101 deaths in confirmed cases, 9 in probable cases in the country’s largest Lassa outbreak.
20 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 57 Local Government Areas with 81% of all confirmed cases from three states: Edo (42%) Ondo (23%) and Ebonyi (16%).
An additional healthcare worker from Ebonyi state was among the new confirmed cases. This year, 27 healthcare workers have been affected by the outbreak, including six deaths.
The decline in cases first evident in week 8 continues, although the peak transmission period is not yet over, so authorities should remain vigilant for new cases. Poor funding of contact tracing activities in some States and poor sanitation conditions in high burden communities and multiple outbreak activities in some States are limiting commitment to the Lassa fever outbreak response.
Image/Robert Herriman
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