40 Die In Nigeria From Lassa Fever

It is reported that About 40 people have died from the outbreak of lassa fever said by the Health Minister Isaac Adewole. It is said that 22 out of the 86 reported cases of lassa fever have already tested positive while the remaining test is been expected.

The states affected so far include;  Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Plateau, Gombe Rivers, Edo and Oyo. The number of Lassa fever infections in west Africa every year is between 100,000 to 300,000, with about 5,000 deaths, according to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and in Nigeria lassa fever got to its peak in 2012 but the rate as reduced since then.

The carrier of the virus is mostly rodents which can be transmitted to humans through contact with their urine and faeces. Humans can also contact the virus through contact with an infected human bodily fluids.The first case of the disease was recorded last November in Bauchi state. Other cases were then reported in Kano and elsewhere.

According to the World Health Organisation, Lassa fever is an acute haemorrhagic illness which belongs to the arenarvirus family of viruses, which also includes the Ebola-like Marburg virus.

People with Lassa fever do not display symptoms in 80 per cent of cases but it can cause serious symptoms and death in the remainder.
Credit: Daily Nation

“Most of the cases that we recorded are not through person-to-person contact but the number of deaths is unusual,” Adewole said of the latest outbreak.

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