According to Senator Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, Minister of State for Health, the Lassa Fever outbreak in Nigeria has claimed the lives of 132 people since the beginning of this year, 2022.
He went on to say that 3,746 suspected cases and 691 verified cases had been documented in 23 states across the country.
The Minister said that Lassa fever cases were on the rise, with a case fatality rate of 19.1 per cent, during the ministry’s bi-weekly COVID-19 briefing on Monday in Abuja.
He pointed out that COVID-19 cases were on the rise in Lagos State, while they were on the fall in the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Mamora, COVID-19 cases in Kaduna, Kwara, and the Rivers States were stable, whilst those in other States could not be determined.
He said the government hoped to sequence the virus by the end of April, citing data from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency that indicated 60% of individuals who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination returned for the second.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Ifedayo Adetifa, stated that, contrary to media claims, the number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria has not increased.
He claimed that the agency was tightening up its national laboratory network, noting that eight states could now examine around 1000 samples each week.
