Nigeria Lassa fever outbreak kills at least 118

Lassa fever killed 118 people in Nigeria in the first three months of this year, the West African country's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said.

The virus, which is carried by rodents and was first recognised in 1969 in the northeastern state of Borno, has killed thousands of people over the years, especially in rural areas, partly due to unsanitary handling of food.

Despite years of campaigning on how to prevent the disease, there have been no significant improvements in environmental hygiene that could prevent rats from accessing homes, food and utensils.

Unorthodox practices

In the January-March period, a total of 645 Lassa fever cases were confirmed with 118 deaths, a fatality rate of 18.3%, NCDC director general Jide Idris said in a statement on Monday.

Nigeria has been recording around 100 deaths from Lassa fever every quarter recently.

Nigeria activates response on deadly Lassa fever - TRT Afrika

Nigeria has launched an emergency response centre after recording 190 deaths from Lassa fever in 2024.

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