The death toll from Lassa fever in Nigeria since the beginning of January has risen to 41 as cases were confirmed in more regions, Nigeria's disease control agency said. The latest figures marked an increase from 29 deaths and 195 confirmed cases given by the authorities for the period up to January 24. Endemic to Nigeria, Lassa fever belongs to the same family as the Ebola and Marburg viruses, but is much less deadly. Nigeria declared an outbreak of Lassa fever a year ago and around 170 people died from the virus in 2019. The agency said although there has been a spike in the number of deaths reported for the week, the figure is still lower than the 42 deaths reported in January 2019.

Source: The Guardian January 29, 2020 10:07 UTC