WHO has published Lassa Fever – Nigeria. Excerpt from a long report:
From 1 January through 15 April 2018, 1849 suspected cases have been reported from 21 states (Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Federal Capital Territory, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, and Taraba). Of these, 413 patients were confirmed with Lassa fever, nine were classified as probable 1422 tested negative and were classified as non-cases and for the five remaining suspect cases laboratory results are pending. Among the 413 confirmed and the nine probable Lassa fever cases, 114 deaths were reported (case fatality rate for confirmed cases is 25.4% and for confirmed and probable cases combined is 27%).
As of 15 April, 27 health care workers in seven states (Abia, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Ondo), have been infected since 1 January 2018, eight of whom have died.
From the beginning of the outbreak in January 2018 to the week ending 18 February the number of weekly reported Lassa fever cases, increased from 10 to 70 cases. From late-February to early March, there has been a downward trend in the weekly reported number of Lassa fever cases with less than 20 cases reported each week in March and only five new cases reported in the week ending 15 April 2018 (Figure 1).
Lassa fever case management centres are operational in three states (Ebonyi, Edo, and Ondo States). The health care workers working in these centres are trained in standard infection prevention and control (IPC) as well as in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and case management. In addition, the suspected cases and deaths reported in community settings are being actively investigated by the field teams and contacts are being followed up.
