ABUJA — Nigerian health authorities have confirmed that the death toll from the ongoing Lassa fever outbreak has risen to 155, with at least three additional fatalities recorded so far this month. According to a statement issued Monday by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), a total of 825 confirmed cases and over 6,520 suspected infections have been reported since January.
The NCDC said the case fatality rate had dropped slightly to 18.6 percent from 18.7 percent last month. Cases have been recorded in at least 21 of Nigeria’s 36 states, with Edo, Ondo, and Ebonyi in the south, as well as Bauchi and Taraba in the north, identified as the worst-hit. In total, 105 local government areas out of the country’s 774 have reported infections this year. While the number of confirmed cases is slightly lower than during the same period in 2024, the fatality rate has risen from last year’s 17.6 percent. People aged 21 to 30 remain the most affected group, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:0.8.
Earlier this year, the NCDC pointed to poor health-seeking behavior, high treatment costs in some areas, and limited public awareness in high-burden communities as key obstacles to controlling the outbreak. The agency has activated a multi-sectoral incident management system to coordinate the nationwide response. Lassa fever is primarily transmitted through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or feces, but human-to-human transmission can also occur through direct contact with the saliva, urine, or excrement of infected rats.
