From: Hadiza Garba, Maiduguri
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said Lassa fever has claimed 80 lives in 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory since the beginning of this year.
The affected states are Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Enugu, Nasarawa, Kogi, Cross River, Imo, Anambra, Delta, Abia and Nasarawa.
The centre, in a statement yesterday, said Since January 2021, a total of 434 confirmed cases with 80 deaths, have been reported from 17 states and 63 local government areas in Nigeria.
NCDC also confirmed the recent death of two persons from Lassa fever in Nasarawa state.
The organisation also said the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health with the support of NCDC has commenced an in-depth epidemiological investigation of the cases to understand the possible source of infection and the extent of spread of the disease.
The Chief Medical Director at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Dr Hassan Ikrama, disclosed this to journalists in Lafia on Wednesday.
He said the hospital had started contact tracing of those people within the hospital to prevent the spread of the disease across the state.
He said health workers in the hospital who came in contact with the woman had been identified and had tested negative for Lassa fever.