The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 143 confirmed cases of Lassa fever out of 484 suspected cases between December 30, 2024, and January 12, 2025, across seven states and 32 local government areas. Out of these cases, there were 22 deaths, resulting in a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 15.4 percent. The information was obtained from the NCDC’s Lassa fever situation report.
The deaths were recorded in various states, including Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba, Ebonyi, and Gombe. Lassa fever is described by the World Health Organisation as an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, which is transmitted to humans through contact with items contaminated by infected Mastomys rats.
The disease is prevalent in parts of West Africa and countries like Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Nigeria. Person-to-person transmission can occur, especially in healthcare settings without adequate infection prevention and control measures.
The NCDC’s report for week two of 2025 showed an increase in confirmed cases compared to the previous week. The report highlighted a lower CFR compared to the same period in 2024. The most affected age group was 21–30 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:0.7 among confirmed cases.
The number of suspected cases decreased from the previous year, with one new case reported among healthcare workers in the second week. The NCDC activated the National Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System to coordinate response efforts.