The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified Poor Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices, late symptom recognition, and delayed care-seeking as the major causes of Lassa Fever Infections among healthcare workers.
The Centre stated that 94.5 per cent of healthcare worker infections occur in outpatient settings, often from undiagnosed cases, and emphasised the need to strengthen IPC Infrastructure in health facilities, mandate Regular, Competency-Based Training, and rigorously enforce precautions in outpatient departments and emergency rooms.
National IPC Coordinator Nigeria and the HOD Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the NCDC, Dr Tochi Okwor who disclosed this at the ongoing ECOWAS Lassa Fever International Conference organised by the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and international partners in Abidjan, Ivorian capital, noted that Lassa fever is a significant public health challenge in Nigeria, with annual outbreaks adding that it’s geographic spread is expanding: from 20 to 34 of 37 Nigerian states between 2018-2023.
Okwor noted that recent data shows 6,851 suspected cases, 836 confirmed cases, and 156 deaths were recorded between Jan 6 and Aug 3, 2025, representing Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.7 per cent.
She observed that Nigeria has a severely constrained health workforce of 1.83 skilled workers per 1,000 people, which is far below WHO’s 4.5 recommendation.
Okwor emphasised that loss of Health Care Workers (HCWs) due to infection is a critical systemic vulnerability that directly threatens national health security and the resilience of the entire health.
According to her, protecting healthcare workers is crucial for maintaining the resilience and functionality of the entire healthcare system, and investing in the safety of healthcare workers is a critical, long-term investment in national health security.
Okwor stressed the need to mandate the establishment of functional IPC Programmes and regular IPC training for all staff, mitigate Care-Seeking Delays and Combat Stigma and ensure targeted interventions to combat fear and stigma.
She stated that despite medical training, HCWs showed significant delay in seeking care, prolonging the risk of transmission and contributing to worse outcomes and stressed the need to rethink where IPC training and resources are allocated.
Okwor noted that only 41.7% of health facilities had IPC programmes, while 53.3 per cent of healthcare workers lacked training.
In the presentation titled “Lassa Fever Infections Among Healthcare Workers in Nigeria: Unmasking Exposure Pathways, Care-Seeking Delays, and Critical Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Gaps”, Okwor disclosed that most infections happen in outpatient settings from cases that haven’t been diagnosed, revealing a major blind spot in current strategies.
According to her, implementation of key infection prevention and control activities, including the systematic monitoring of healthcare workers, has the potential to prevent healthcare-associated outbreaks and maintain the operation of health facilities during the pandemic.
She highlighted some other contributing factors to include lack of awareness of exposure risks and systemic shortages in IPC infrastructure, training, and resources to ensure Consistent Availability of Resources and to establish supply chains to ensure essential PPE and hand hygiene materials are available.
She called for effective measures to address the complex web where systemic failures, such as a lack of PPE, lead to behavioural issues that increase exposure and prolong infectivity due to delayed care.
Okwor also recommended a comprehensive workload assessment, adequate staffing and implementation of strategies to mitigate burnout.
She argued that effective solutions must address both individual behaviours through better training and systemic issues through proper resource allocation and infrastructure development.
