Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic illness, has killed 109 people across 22 states in Nigeria between January and the first week of March this year, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
The agency in its latest situation report on its website said it confirmed 676 cases within the first nine weeks of the year, spread across 89 local government areas.
– Key points to note
The affected states are Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Ebonyi, Kano, Benue, Niger, FCT, Cross River, Adamawa, Gombe, Delta, Bayelsa, Kogi, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Enugu, Imo, Anambra and Jigawa.
The worst hit states are Ondo, Edo and Bauchi where 72% of all cases were found.
Most of the victims are between the ages of 21 and 30.
– Learn more
Lassa fever is caused by a virus which naturally lives in rodents.
The virus spreads through direct contact with urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats; contact with objects, household items and contaminated surfaces.
Person-to-person transmission can also occur through contact with blood, urine, faeces, vomit and other body fluids of an infected person.
The disease is also endemic in Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo, according to the WHO.
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