The death toll from Nigeria’s Lassa fever outbreak has risen to 166 since the start of the year, health authorities said Thursday, warning that delays in treatment and poor public awareness are fueling the spread of the disease.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said in its latest update that 895 confirmed cases had been recorded between January and September across 106 local government areas in 21 of the country’s 36 states.
The case fatality rate has reached 18.5 percent, up from 16.9 percent during the same period in 2024, the NCDC said.
It attributed the increase in deaths to “delayed case management and poor health-seeking behavior, often linked to the high cost of treatment.”
The hardest-hit states are Edo, Ebonyi and Ondo in the south, along with Bauchi and Taraba in the north, accounting for more than 90 percent of confirmed cases.
Nearly one-third of all deaths were reported in Ondo State, the agency said.
The NCDC added that poor hygiene, limited awareness in heavily affected communities, and treatment delays continue to worsen the outbreak.
A multisectoral incident management system has been activated to coordinate a nationwide response.
