The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has recorded 38 confirmed cases and nine deaths from Lassa fever in 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across seven states in the country within one week, from February 10 to 16.

NCDC, which disclosed this in its latest Lassa Fever epidemiological report published on its website, noted that the number of confirmed cases decreased from 54 in the previous week to 38 in the reporting week.

According to the centre, the affected states include Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Cross River, and Kogi.
The report revealed that from week one to week seven, 2,178 suspected cases and 89 deaths from the outbreak were recorded.

NCDC stated that the deaths reported represent a case fatality rate (CFR) of 19.7 per cent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (17.8 per cent).

It noted that the suspected cases were reported in Ondo (150), Bauchi (100), Edo (80), Taraba (72), Kogi (13), Ebonyi (13), Gombe (11), Plateau (five), Benue (three), Nasarawa (two), Delta (one), and Cross River (one).

The centre stated that 73 per cent of all confirmed cases were reported from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi, while 27 per cent were reported from nine other states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.

NCDC further observed that out of the 73 per cent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 34 per cent, Edo 21 per cent, and Bauchi 18 per cent, adding that the predominant age group affected is 21-30 years.

The report showed that the number of suspected cases decreased compared to that reported for the same period in 2024, with no new healthcare workers affected in the reporting week.

It pointed out that the National Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System has been activated to coordinate the response activities at all levels, while the National Rapid Response Teams have been deployed to support onsite control and management efforts using a One Health approach.