According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Lassa fever cases in Nigeria have jumped to 857 and 164 people have so far died from the disease in the first seven months of 2022.
In its latest Lassa fever situation report for week 29, NCDC said the cases were distributed across 24 states and 99 local government areas in the country, adding that 54 healthcare workers had been infected with the disease.
The deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 19.1 per cent, which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021, 23.7 per cent.
The Lassa virus is transmitted to man by infected multimammate rats and humans become infected from direct contact with the urine and faeces of the rat carrying the virus. People also contract the disease by touching soiled objects, eating contaminated food, or exposure to open cuts or sores.
Secondary transmission from person to person can also occur due to exposure to the virus in the blood, tissue, urine, faeces or other bodily secretions of an infected patient.