The outbreak of Lassa fever was only announced in January —
months after the first case of the disease happened in August — with subsequent
deaths reported in 10 states, including Abuja. Last year, 12 people died in
Nigeria out of 375 infected, while in 2012 there were 1,723 cases and 112
deaths, according to the NCDC. In neighbouring Benin at least nine people have
died in a Lassa outbreak, with a total of 20 suspected cases, health
authorities said Tuesday.
Benin was last hit by a Lassa fever outbreak in
October 2014, when nine people suspected of having the virus died. The number
of Lassa fever infections in West Africa every year is between 100,000 to
300,000, with about 5,000 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Lassa fever belongs to the same family as Marburg and
Ebola, two deadly viruses that lead to infections with fever, vomiting and, in
worse case scenarios, haemorrhagic bleeding. Its name is from the town of Lassa
in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969. Endemic to the
region, Lassa fever is asymptomatic in 80 percent of cases but for others it
can cause internal bleeding, especially when diagnosed late. The virus is
spread through contact with food or household items contaminated with rats’
urine or faeces or after coming in direct contact with the bodily fluids of an
infected person.
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