Twenty-two (22) people have been declared dead by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) out of 143 Lassa fever cases that were reported in the first two weeks of 2025.
According to information released by the NCDC on its official website on Wednesday, the number of verified cases increased from 54 in week one of 2025 to 89 in week two alone.
Ondo, Edo, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Kogi, and Ebonyi States were among the states where cases were reported.
According to the NCDC, the cumulative case fatality rate (CFR) is 15.4%, which is marginally less than the 16.4% observed in 2024 for the same time frame.
It further stated that according to the situation report for the second week, 32 local government districts across seven states had reported confirmed cases thus far.
With 77 percent of the confirmed cases, Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states make up the majority. Ondo leads with 38 percent, followed by Edo with 22 percent, and Bauchi with 17 percent. Four additional states account for the remaining 23% of cases.
The disease has primarily afflicted people between the ages of 21 and 30, with a median age of 32 and a range of 3 to 78 years, according to the NCDC.
According to the centre, the male-to-female ratio is 1:0.7, meaning that more men than women have been impacted.
The dangers posed by frontline responders were highlighted by the confirmation of one healthcare worker’s infection during the second reporting week.
The NCDC cautioned that the situation is still severe even though there are fewer probable cases than there were around the same time in 2024.
It stated that the multi-sectoral Lassa fever Incident Management System (IMS) has been launched to coordinate the national response, bringing together development and government partners to improve public health, case management, and surveillance. Precautionary measures, such as appropriate food storage, rodent control, and timely medical attention for symptoms like fever and bleeding, were advised by the Centre to Nigerians.