Lassa Fever: Nigeria’s Death Toll Rises To 155

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that the country has recorded 6,640 suspected and 822 confirmed cases of Lassa fever with 155 deaths in the past six months.

NCDC disclosed this on Tuesday in its situation report for epidemiological week 29 (Epi week 29), stating that the case fatality rate (CFR) stands at 18.9 per cent, higher than the 17.1 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.

The report revealed that 11 new confirmed cases were reported in two states (Ondo and Edo), adding that a total of 21 states have reported at least one confirmed case across 105 local government areas in 2025.

However, five states; Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, and Ebonyi accounted for 89 per cent of all confirmed cases. Ondo topped the list with 32 per cent of the total, followed by Bauchi (23%), Edo (17%), Taraba (14%), and Ebonyi (3%).

According to the report, the most affected age group is 21–30 years, with patients ranging from one to 96 years old and a median age of 30. The male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases is 1:0.8.

NCDC said that the National Lassa Fever Multi-Partner, Multi-Sectoral Technical Working Group (TWG) was coordinating response efforts at all levels, providing technical support to states and stakeholders to curb the spread of the disease.

The Centre also urged the public to remain vigilant, practice good hygiene, and seek early medical attention for symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and general body weakness.