An unprecedented outbreak of a disease that causes bleeding from the vagina has now killed 73 people in Nigeria, according to the latest figures.
Health officials in the African country warn cases of Lassa fever have rocketed by nearly 50 per cent in a week.
It comes just days after the World Health Organization named the deadly virus in its list of pathogens that pose the most ‘urgent’ threat.
At least 913 suspected cases of Lassa fever have been recorded since the turn of the year, Nigeria’s Center for Disease Control states.
By contrast, a cumulative toll of cases released last week revealed just 615 had been recorded since January 1.
READ: Missouri Governor Eric Greitens arrested, charged over nude photo
Elsie Ilori, manager of the NCDC’s Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre, said the situation currently ‘is overwhelming’.
In an interview with Bloomberg, she explained that the current outbreak is ‘more than what we have seen before’.
The Lassa fever outbreak, which has struck 17 of Nigeria’s 36 states, has already prompted international aid efforts.
Nigerian officials praised the WHO earlier this week for its efforts in containing the outbreak, despite figures showing cases are on the rise.
A separate statement released today by the WHO also warned of a potential spike in cases in two nearby countries on the west coast of Africa.
It revealed a patient from Guinea had sought treatment in Liberia after becoming ill. She later died and was confirmed to have Lassa fever.
Lassa fever is endemic in Nigeria and several other countries on the west coast of Africa, including Liberia and Guinea, according to the WHO.
Symptoms begin with headaches, sore throats and vomiting, but it can trigger bleeding from the mouth, nose or vagina.
However, they gradually progress to shock, seizures, tremors, disorientation and comas without prompt treatment.
A quarter of patients will also experience temporary deafness that will eventually return, medical literature states.
Pregnant women who contract the disease late in pregnancy face an 80 per cent chance of losing their child or dying themselves.
It can either be spread by rats or from person-to-person by exposure to bodily fluids of someone who is infected.
