Lassa fever claims 35 lives in Nigeria: official

A total of 35 people have so far been killed in the latest outbreak of Lassa fever in parts of Nigeria, a figure indicating an almost 46 percent fatality rate among 76 suspected cases, a senior official said Thursday.

Minister of health Isaac Adewole told reporters in Abuja that 14 cases have been confirmed by laboratories as the disease spreads across eight states in the West African country - including Bauchi, Edo, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Rivers and Taraba.

The World Health Organization has been duly notified of the cases confirmed, he said, adding in response to the outbreak, the government is taking necessary measures to reduce mortality among those affected, as well as curtail further spread of the disease.

Lassa fever, a disease carried by rodents, is usually transmitted when the saliva, urine and excreta of the multi-mammalian rats come in contact with humans through their food or water. In some cases, Lassa fever has similar symptoms with malaria.

The latest outbreak in Nigeria has been spreading for more than six weeks since its first case was recorded in the northeastern state of Bauchi.

Nigerian authorities said there was capability of putting the outbreak under control, noting there was a high possibility of treatment and survival for early diagnosis. The Nigeria Center for Disease Control has already started coordinating response activities in all the affected states, the health minister said.

In 2012, Lassa fever claimed more than 40 lives in 12 states across Nigeria. For this reason, the Nigerian government set up a Lassa Fever Rapid Response Committee to investigate, prevent and control outbreaks of the disease. Endit