Despite Decline In Lassa Fever Cases, Fatality Rate Remains High At 18.7%, Health Agency Raises Alarm

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has raised an alarm that despite a decline in new confirmed Lassa fever cases across the country, the case fatality rate remains alarmingly high at 18.7%.

This is even as the agency revealed that 100 deaths have been recorded so far in 2025 from the case

The agency disclosed this in its latest Epidemiological Week 9 report, published on its official website on Sunday.

The report confirmed 29 new Lassa fever cases across nine states, marking a decrease from 54 cases recorded in the previous week.

The affected states are Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, Ebonyi, Plateau, Cross River, Nasarawa, and Enugu.

Three states account for majority of cases
The NCDC reported that 72% of all confirmed cases were recorded in just three states—Ondo (31%), Bauchi (24%), and Edo (17%)—highlighting their continued burden in the outbreak.

It expressed concerns over the effectiveness of ongoing containment efforts, noting that these states remained the most affected.

Additionally, NCDC revealed that a new healthcare worker was infected in Week 9, bringing the total number of affected health workers in 2025 to 17.