Nigeria has recorded 12 new cases of the Lassa fever with three deaths between March 30 and April 5 2020, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The NCDC revealed this in its week 14 report of Lassa fever shared on its official Twitter handle, on Thursday.
According to the report by the agency, the new cases were reported in the following states: Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Bauchi and Sokoto.
The report further explained that “In week 14, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 19 cases in week 13, 2020 to 12 cases.”
It added that no health worker was affected in the report for week 14, revealing further that one hundred and eighty eight (188) persons have died of Lassa fever in the country since the start of the year.
Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic fever, is endemic in some parts of West Africa and is mostly passed on via food contaminated with infected rat urine or faeces.
Also, it has an incubation period of between six and twenty-one days and can be transmitted via contact with an infected person through bodily fluids and excretion.