Benue Reports No Lassa Fever Deaths in 11 Days Amid 383 Suspected Cases

In Makurdi, Nigeria, the Benue State Government reported on Tuesday that no deaths from Lassa fever have occurred in the past 11 days, even as suspected cases in the state climbed to 383. The announcement came amid a national slowdown in new infections, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, though the overall case fatality rate has increased this year.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Paul Ogwuche shared the update during a briefing with journalists. He said confirmed cases in Benue stand at 47, with only six new positives identified from samples tested over the 11-day period. The total death toll in the state since the outbreak began remains at 14. Currently, 20 patients are in isolation, including 14 at Benue State University Teaching Hospital and six at the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi. Ogwuche noted that 14 health workers have contracted the virus since the start of the outbreak, resulting in two fatalities among them.

Ogwuche credited the recent progress to aggressive surveillance, public awareness campaigns, and early case detection across all 23 local government areas. "We have not recorded any mortality in the last 11 days," he said. "The...