10 LGAs account for 68% of infections as NCDC warns systemic failures in detection, treatment, and infection prevention are driving Nigeria’s Lassa fever crisis.
By Kehinde Adegoke
Abuja: The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported 318 confirmed Lassa fever cases and 70 deaths, a 22 per cent fatality rate that exposes critical gaps in state-level outbreak response and healthcare preparedness.
Dr Jide Idris, Director-General of NCDC, said this on Friday in Abuja, during a press briefing on Lassa fever.
Idris reported that five states account for 91 per cent of confirmed cases, with just 10 Local Government Areas (LGAs) responsible for 68 per cent.
He also reported that the current outbreak has infected 15 healthcare workers.
He explained that the centre has activated its Incident Management System (IMS) to coordinate the national response and holds weekly National Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) meetings to review the situation and guide interventions at the state level.
National Rapid Response Teams have been deployed to Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Benue, and Jigawa states, with further deployments planned if needed.
He stated that the network distributed laboratory testing commodities, while staff supplied medical countermeasures—including personal protective equipment (PPE), treatment supplies, and dialysis support for complex cases—to treatment centres nationwide.
Investigations over the past two years found poor Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices, low suspicion in high-burden areas, and delayed care-seeking due to stigma contributed to healthcare worker infections.
He said the agency sent letters to Commissioners for Health to strengthen IPC compliance in hospitals and issued advisories to healthcare workers.
He noted that the centre continues to provide public health information on preventive measures, including rodent control and safe food storage practices. The centre shares Social Behavioural Change materials with State Health Promotion Officers and Risk Communication stakeholders.
He also said the agency monitors rumours and public perceptions to curb misinformation. He cited a recent rumour at a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp in Kwara State, which the agency investigated and publicly clarified in collaboration with state authorities.
However, he identified several challenges affecting the response.
He stated, “Weak state ownership, gaps in contact tracing, limited funding for awareness campaigns, poor data reporting mechanisms, and inconsistent enforcement of IPC measures in some health facilities are seriously undermining our response and must be addressed immediately.”
He urgently raised alarm over substandard treatment centres, patients absconding, and dangerously disrupted safe burial protocols caused by critical resource shortages.
Idris urgently warned that some facilities are failing to fully utilise dialysis machines donated for severe Lassa fever cases, and high service charges in certain centres are creating critical barriers to care.
He urgently emphasised that controlling outbreaks requires immediate, stronger state-level coordination. He called on state governments to intensify active case-finding, rapidly expand risk communication, promptly eliminate barriers to treatment costs, and rigorously enforce IPC practices across all health facilities without delay.
The D-G added, “We continue collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Federal Ministry of Food Security, the National Veterinary Research Institute, and the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development under a One Health approach.”
He reiterated, “Outbreak containment begins at the community level, and demands sustained political commitment from state leadership to reduce fatalities and prevent further spread.”
The Lassa virus causes Lassa fever, an acute viral haemorrhagic illness first identified in 1969 in the town of Lassa, Borno State.
The disease remains endemic in Nigeria and parts of West Africa, with the multimammate rat (Mastomys natalensis) primarily carrying the virus.
Humans become infected through contact with rodent excreta or contaminated food, and people can transmit the virus to each other in healthcare settings without proper infection prevention measures.
While many infections are mild or asymptomatic, about 20 per cent can develop severe disease, presenting with fever, headache, vomiting, bleeding, and organ dysfunction.
The disease often peaks during the dry season (December–April), when people experience increased contact with rodents.
With no licensed vaccine available, public health workers rely on community hygiene, rodent control, early detection, supportive care, and antiviral treatment with Ribavirin for selected patients to control the disease.
Public health efforts in Nigeria focus on enhanced surveillance, risk communication, and strengthened clinical and laboratory response.
