No fewer than eight health workers have been infected following a looming outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria.

This was as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control stated that the total number of deaths from the disease had risen to 83.

Lassa fever, a disease which is endemic to Nigeria, occurs throughout the year but more cases were always recorded during the dry season.

The NCDC on its website specifically appealed to health workers to “maintain a high index of suspicion for Lassa fever, be vigilant and look out for symptoms of Lassa fever. Not all fevers are malaria”, the disease control centre had said.

In its weekly situation report, the centre however noted that a total of eight workers had been infected while the total cumulative deaths reported so far had risen to 83.

The centre added that 4,083 suspected cases had been reported in all the 36 states ad the FCT. “Of all the confirmed cases, 84 per cent were recorded in Edo, Ondo and Taraba States,” it added.

The NCDC further noted that in 2019, a total of 796 cases were reported while it further increased to 1,165 cases were confirmed in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

 The Director General of the NCDC, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, however, stated that the NCDC had sent alert letters to States to inform them of the looming outbreak.