Nigeria Declares Lassa Fever Outbreak With 60 Cases Reported

(Bloomberg) -- Nigerian health authorities reported an outbreak of Lassa fever, with 60 cases of the viral hemorrhagic illness being confirmed in eight states.

“Given this increase in reported cases of Lassa fever, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has declared this an outbreak and activated an emergency operations center to coordinate the response,” the agency said Tuesday in an emailed statement.

In February 2018, the agency said the illness killed 73 people, after registering 913 suspected cases. Nigeria’s southern Ondo and Edo states were most affected last year.

Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness, transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated by infected rodents, according to the NCDC.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Olukayode in Maiduguri at molugbode1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sophie Mongalvy at smongalvy@bloomberg.net, Eric Ombok, Paul Richardson

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