Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed nine new cases of Lassa fever in three states: Ondo, Edo and Taraba.
NCDC disclosed this yesyerday in its situation report for Epidemiological week 31 (EPI Week 31).
According to the report, as of week 31, a total of 836 confirmed cases and 156 deaths were recorded nationwide, translating to a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.7 per cent, which is higher than the 17.3 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.
So far in 2025, 21 states have reported at least one confirmed case of Lassa fever across 105 Local Government Areas. 90 per cent of all confirmed cases were reported from five states: Ondo (33 per cent), Bauchi (23 per cent), Edo (17 per cent), Taraba (14 per cent) and Ebonyi (3 per cent), while the remaining 10 per cent came from 16 other states, the report stated.
The disease predominantly affects people aged between 21 and 30 years, with the age range of cases spanning from one to 96 years and a median age of 30. The male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases is 1:0.8.
NCDC noted that both suspected and confirmed cases this year have reduced compared to the same period in 2024. It also confirmed that no healthcare worker was affected during the reporting week.
The centre also said that the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group (TWG) is coordinating and supporting response activities at all levels to contain the spread of the disease.
