THE Lassa fever death toll in Nigeria this year has risen to 123 amid ongoing measures by the government to reduce infections across the country, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said today.

A total of 659 confirmed cases of Lassa fever have been reported across the West African country since January, the NCDC said in a statement.

Of the figure, 45 health workers were infected by the disease between January and March, the public health agency said.

Ninety-one local government areas across 23 out of Nigeria’s 36 states have reported the disease so far, said Xinhua.

The NCDC said with the total number of deaths so far recorded, the case fatality rate for the Lassa fever outbreak stands at 18.7%.

The predominant age group so far affected by the disease is between 21 and 30 years, the agency stated.

It noted that the animal vector for the Lassa virus – the multimammate rat – is found throughout the West African region, thereby calling on neighbouring countries to stay alert on the spread of the disease.

The agency said it is currently distributing medical response items to states and treatment centres as part of measures to control the spread of the disease.

In January, the NCDC said it had activated the national multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary Lassa fever emergency operations centre in response to the outbreak in the country. – Bernama, March 28, 2022.