Korede Abdullah in Lagos
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported 38 confirmed cases and nine deaths from Lassa fever across seven states in the country.
According to the NCDC’s latest Lassa Fever epidemiological report, the affected states include Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Cross River, and Kogi.
The number of confirmed cases decreased from 54 in the previous week to 38 in the reporting week, which spanned from February 10 to 16.
From week one to week seven, the NCDC recorded 2,178 suspected cases and 89 deaths from the outbreak. The reported deaths represent a case fatality rate (CFR) of 19.7 per cent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (17.8 per cent).
The suspected cases were reported in several states, with Ondo, Bauchi, and Edo accounting for 73 per cent of all confirmed cases.
The NCDC has activated the National Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System to coordinate response activities at all levels.
The National Rapid Response Teams have also been deployed to support onsite control and management efforts using a One Health approach.
The predominant age group affected by the outbreak is 21-30 years, and no new healthcare workers were affected in the reporting week.
