The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 54 new cases of Lassa fever from 196 suspected cases recorded between December 30, 2024, and January 5, 2025.
This development also came with 10 fatalities, resulting in a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.5 per cent.
According to the NCDC’s Week 1 Situation Report, the cases spanned six states and 20 local government areas. The affected states include Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, Ebonyi, and Kogi.
The report noted a decline in confirmed cases compared to the last week of December 2024, which recorded 70 cases.
However, the CFR has increased compared to the 11.3 per cent recorded during the same period last year.
“Cumulatively in week 1, 2025, 10 deaths have been reported with a CFR of 18.5 per cent,” the report stated. “Six states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 20 LGAs.”
The report highlighted that 78 per cent of confirmed cases were reported from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states.
Specifically, Ondo accounted for 35 per cent of the cases, Edo 28 per cent, and Bauchi 15 per cent.
The predominant age group affected ranges between 21-30 years, with cases spanning ages 3 to 70 years.
The median age of infected individuals is 31.5 years, and the male-to-female ratio stands at 1:0.6.
The NCDC revealed that suspected cases have increased compared to the same period in 2024. Last year, the nation reported 9,685 suspected cases, with 1,187 confirmed cases and 191 deaths across 28 states and 138 local government areas.
The agency noted that no healthcare workers were affected in the first week of 2025.
The National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System has been activated to coordinate response efforts at all levels.
In December 2024, the NCDC Director General, Dr. Jide Idris, announced the activation of the Emergency Operations Centre for Lassa fever due to the high-risk assessment of the outbreak during the peak season.
Lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, is transmitted through exposure to food or household items contaminated with the urine or feces of infected Mastomys rats.
The World Health Organization (WHO) categorizes the disease as endemic in the rodent population across parts of West Africa.
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