Lassa Outbreak Claims Lives of 101 Nigerians
Local Editor
Data released Saturday by the nation's health authorities indicated that a growing Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria killed 101 people so far, as West Africa battles to contain a flare up of the virus.
Nigeria Center for Disease Control [NCDC] statistics show that reported cases of the hemorrhagic disease, both confirmed and suspected, stood at 175 with a total of 101 deaths since August.
An NCDC statement included: "As at today, 19 states, including Abuja, are currently following up contacts, or have suspected cases with laboratory results pending or laboratory confirmed cases."
Deaths from the virus were recorded in the nation's political capital, Abuja, Lagos, and 14 other states, the NCDC added.
Meanwhile, as health authorities assure Africa's most populous country of more than 170 million they have the virus under control, there are fears the actual scale of the outbreak is under-reported.
The outbreak of Lassa was only announced in January, months after the first case of the disease happened in August, with subsequent deaths reported in 10 states.
Lassa fever belongs to the same family as Marburg and Ebola, two deadly viruses that lead to infections with fever, vomiting and, in worse case scenarios, hemorrhagic bleeding.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
