NCDC: Lassa Fever Claims 166 Lives in 2025, Fatality Rate Rises to 18.5%

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported that Lassa fever has killed 166 people in the country between January 1 and September 14, 2025.

The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) currently stands at 18.5 per cent, an increase from the 16.9 per cent recorded within the same period in 2024.

According to NCDC’s Week 37 epidemiological report, Nigeria has so far recorded 7,673 suspected cases and 895 confirmed infections across 21 states and 106 Local Government Areas.

Lassa fever, described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an acute viral illness caused by the Lassa virus, is endemic in Nigeria and several West African countries, including Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, and Sierra Leone. The virus is primarily transmitted through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces, while human-to-human transmission is common in healthcare facilities without strict infection control measures.

The NCDC disclosed that in Week 37, new confirmed cases dropped slightly to 11 from 13 in Week 36. The latest cases were recorded in Ondo, Bauchi, Kogi, and Anambra States.

Data shows that five states account for 90 per cent of all confirmed cases: Ondo (33 per cent), Bauchi (23 per cent), Edo (18 per cent), Taraba (13 per cent), and Ebonyi (3 per cent). The remaining 16 states contributed 10 per cent.

The disease has mostly affected people between the ages of 21 and 30, with a median age of 30 years. The male-to-female ratio of confirmed cases stands at 1:0.8.

Encouragingly, no new healthcare worker infections were reported in the week under review. Overall, the number of suspected and confirmed cases remains lower than in the same period last year.

The NCDC said its multi-partner National Lassa Fever Technical Working Group continues to coordinate response measures across all levels of government to contain the outbreak.