LASSA FEVER DEATH TOLL HITS 172 IN NIGERIA – NCDC
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed that the death toll from Lassa fever in Nigeria has risen to 172 as of epidemiological Week 40 of 2025.
In its latest situation report released on Tuesday, the agency said the country has so far recorded 924 confirmed cases across 21 states and 106 Local Government Areas, with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.6 per cent — a rise from 17.0 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the Arenavirus family. Humans typically contract the disease through contact with food or household items contaminated by the urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats — a rodent species common in West Africa.
WHO lists Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Togo among the countries where the disease is endemic, though it is believed to exist in other parts of the region as well.
The NCDC report showed that in Week 40, new confirmed cases increased from four (4) in Week 39 to 13, all reported in Ondo State.
It also noted that Ondo (35%), Bauchi (22%), Edo (17%), Taraba (13%), and Ebonyi (3%) accounted for about 90 per cent of all confirmed cases, while the remaining 10 per cent were spread across 16 other states.
The predominant age group affected is 21–30 years (range: 1–96 years; median age: 30 years), with a male-to-female ratio of 1:0.8.
Encouragingly, the report stated that no new healthcare workers were infected during the week under review and that both suspected and confirmed cases have decreased compared to the same period in 2024.
The NCDC further disclosed that its multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group continues to coordinate national response activities in collaboration with states and other health agencies to curb the spread of the virus.
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