The death toll from Lassa fever in Nigeria since the beginning of January has risen to 41 as cases were confirmed in more regions, News24 reports Nigeria's disease control agency said. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said that from 1 January to 26 January a total of 258 confirmed cases, including five health workers, were reported across 19 states.
The latest figures marked an increase from 29 deaths and 195 confirmed cases given by the authorities for the period up to 24 January.
The report says Nigeria declared an outbreak of Lassa fever a year ago and around 170 people died from the virus in 2019. The NCDC said that the fatality rate was down to 15.9% from 19.7% during the same period last year. The agency said although there has been a spike in the number of deaths reported for the week, the figure is still lower than the 42 deaths reported in January 2019.
[link url="https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/lassa-fever-deaths-in-nigeria-rise-to-41-19-states-affected-20200129"]Full News24 report[/link]