By Deborah Nnamdi
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, said that a total of 54 confirmed cases of Lassa fever and 10 deaths were recorded in Nigeria out of the 196 suspected cases.
The cases, according to NCDC, were recorded between December 30, 2024, and January 5, 2025.
The report which was contained in the Lassa fever situation report obtained from the NCDC was from six states and 20 local government areas.
The report states: “In week one, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 70 in week 52, of 2024 to 54. These were reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, Ebonyi, and Kogi States.
Cumulatively, in week 1, 2025, 10 deaths were reported with a CFR of 18.5 per cent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (11.3 per cent).
“In 2025, six States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 20 LGAs.”
NCDC noted that 78 per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi, while 22 per cent were reported from three states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.
The NCDC further explained that the number of suspected cases increased compared to the same period in 2024.
The agency added that no new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week one, and the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System had been activated to coordinate the response activities at all levels.
The NCDC, last year activated the Emergency Operations Centre for Lassa fever, and the risk assessment was categorized as high.
In 2024, the country recorded 9,685 suspected cases of Lassa fever, 1,187 confirmed cases, and 191 deaths across 28 states and 138 Local Government Areas.
