Forty people have died of an acute disease caused by the Lassa virus in Nigeria in January, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said in its newest situation report.
"Cumulatively from week 1 to week 4, 2022, 40 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 19.0%," NCDC said in a weekly situation report out Friday.
NCDC activated the national Lassa fever emergency operations centre this week in response to the outbreak that has affected 14 of 36 Nigerian states. An overall 211 cases were confirmed in January. Most patients are aged 21-30.
Lassa fever is an animal-borne acute viral illness mostly found in West Africa. It is typically spread by rats but can be contracted through contact with the body fluids of an infected person.
Most of those infected show no to mild symptoms but about a fifth develop serious complications, such as respiratory distress, tremors, brain inflammation and multi-organ failure, which lead to death. Hearing loss occurs in a third of all cases. (ANI/Xinhua)
( With inputs from ANI )
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