A total of 41 deaths have been recorded from the latest Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria, as the acute viral hemorrhagic fever continues to spread in the most populous African country, the local centre for disease control said on Wednesday.
In a statement made available to Xinhua in Abuja, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said 258 confirmed cases of the disease were recorded in 19 out of the 36 states in the country since the beginning of the year.
There have been 689 suspected cases so far. The majority of the cases were recorded in the southern states of Ebonyi, Edo, and Ondo, the NCDC said.
The local disease control center said five health workers were among the victims. A national emergency operation center has been activated to coordinate response activities nationwide.
With the tropical climate in Nigeria, there is a high risk of infectious diseases like Lassa fever because of the vector. This also is the case for other West African countries with a similar environment, minister of health Osagie Ehanire said in a separate statement.
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