The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has announced that between January and March 2025 the country has recorded 3,465 suspected cases of Lassa fever, with 645 confirmed infections and 118 deaths.
The Director-General of centre, Dr Jide Idris who disclosed on Sunday, said that the outbreak had affected 91 local government areas across 33 states, resulting in a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.3 per cent.
He added that 20 healthcare workers have been infected across several states, including Ondo (8), Bauchi (4), Edo (1), Taraba (2), Ebonyi (1), Gombe (2), Benue (1), and Ogun (1).
The agency said it had also distributed essential medical supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE) and treatment medications, to affected states.
“NCDC had deployed Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to 10 states: Kogi, Plateau, Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Taraba, Benue, Gombe, and Nasarawa, for a two-week intervention.
“Due to the evolving nature of the outbreak, deployments in Edo and Taraba were extended by an additional 10 and seven days, respectively.
“To enhance coordination and response efforts, the NCDC had activated the Lassa Fever National Emergency Operations Centre (LF-EOC) at Response Level 2 to facilitate improved collaboration among stakeholders, including federal and state governments, local authorities, and development partners,” he said.
The centre also identified response challenges, including weak community-level surveillance and inadequate human and financial resources, which it said had strained treatment efforts, contact tracing and active case searches.
Dr Idris noted that treatment centres are struggling with manpower shortages, and many patients delay seeking care, often resorting to self-medication and ineffective traditional practices.
He therefore, called on state governments to support the cost of Lassa fever treatment and urged private sector involvement in ensuring the availability of essential medical supplies and public health awareness campaigns.
“Preventing Lassa fever requires collective action, healthcare workers should maintain high infection prevention and control (IPC) standards and citizens to uphold strict environmental hygiene practices to prevent rodent infestation, a key transmission factor for Lassa fever,” he said.
The centre said public awareness, early medical intervention, and stronger healthcare infrastructure are required to combat the outbreak effectively.
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