The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported that Lassa fever has tragically claimed 127 lives in Nigeria between January and April of this year. These cases have been recorded across 18 states, highlighting the widespread nature of the outbreak.

In a situation report issued on Tuesday, the NCDC detailed that as of week 14 of 2025, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) stands at a concerning 18.8%. This is higher than the CFR recorded during the same period in 2024, which was 18.5%. The report further indicates that at least one confirmed case has been recorded in 93 Local Government Areas across the 18 affected states.

The NCDC has identified that a significant portion, 71%, of all confirmed Lassa fever cases originate from three states: Ondo, Bauchi, and Edo. Specifically, Ondo state accounts for 30% of the confirmed cases, Bauchi state for 25%, and Edo state for 16%. The remaining 28% of cases were reported from 15 other states with confirmed Lassa fever infections.

Recent data shows a slight increase in new confirmed cases, rising from 14 in week 13 of 2025 to 15 in week 14. These new cases were reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, Ebonyi, and Gombe States. Encouragingly, no new healthcare workers were affected during the reporting week 14.

While the number of suspected cases this year is lower compared to the same period in 2024, the NCDC has activated the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System (IMS). This system is designed to coordinate response activities at all levels to combat the spread of the disease. The NCDC also noted that the predominant age group affected by the outbreak is individuals between 21 and 30 years old.