Lassa Fever Death Toll Reaches 41 in Nigeria

A picture shows a warning and awareness banner for Lassa fever displayed at the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Irrua, Edo State, midwest Nigeria, on March 6, 2018. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images

The death toll from a Lassa fever outbreak in northern Nigeria has risen to 41, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) announced this week.

There are 258 confirmed cases of the infectious disease across 19 of Nigeria’s 36 states, the NCDC said. Most of those affected are between 11 and 40 years old.