Cholera, Lassa fever, others killed 1,084 in 2022 – NCDC

In 2022, no less than 1,084 lives were lost in Nigeria due to Lassa fever, cholera, measles, meningitis, mpox and yellow fever.

The infections also resulted in 20,375 confirmed cases.

This is according to an analysis of reports on the disease situation obtained from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The PUNCHnoted, however, that the situational reports for cholera, measles, meningitis, mpox and yellow fever were not updated until week 52 of 2022.

Disease outbreaks, especially re-emerging diseases, are a concern for public health experts and stakeholders.

According to The Lancet, high mobility between Nigeria and neighboring countries coupled with adverse climate and environmental factors makes West Africa highly susceptible to the rapid spread of infections.

Lassa fever

The NCDC report for Lassa fever found that of the 8,202 suspected cases reported in 2022, there were 1,067 confirmed cases with 189 deaths.

The cases were confirmed in 112 local government areas and 27 states, with a fatality rate of 17.7 percent.

Meningitis

Meningitis data showed that there were 961 suspected cases recorded in 159 LGAs and 33 states by 2022.

The number of recorded deaths from the disease was 56.

Cholera

The report showed that more deaths were recorded due to cholera, with the death toll at 583 and a fatality rate of 3.4 percent.

The number of suspected cholera cases in 270 LGAs and 33 states was 23,550.

The country reported 604 confirmed cases and 1,549 suspected cases, with seven deaths. The cases were reported from 32 states across the country.

According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria tops the list of countries with mpox infections in the African region.

Yellow fever

In 2022, a total of 1,601 suspected cases and seven confirmed cases of yellow fever were recorded from 463 LGAs.

Fifteen deaths were recorded from the disease, with a CFR of 15 percent.

The measles

The country also recorded 18,545 confirmed cases of measles, with 234 deaths. The cases were recorded in 40 LGAs.

In a related development, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said the ministry is monitoring the outbreak of disease in the country.

According to him, the country is currently battling diphtheria, lassa fever, cholera, meningitis, measles, COVID-19 and yellow fever.

Ehanire said: “The health sector is a shared responsibility of the state, the federal government and even the local government, and we also try to involve the community in the implementation of our programs. Everyone has a shared responsibility, but addressing a certain condition is a collective responsibility of the federal and state governments.”