Nigeria Lassa Fever Deaths Rise To 140

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has recorded 13 new deaths of Lassa fever with 82 new suspected cases, and 3 new confirmed cases as of May 11, 2025.

NCDC’s previous situation report confirmed a total of 127 deaths out of 674 confirmed cases and 4,025 suspected cases from January 2025 to April 6, 2025.

According to the latest situation report shared on its website on Thursday, the agency recorded a total of 717 confirmed cases, 4,963 suspected cases and 140 deaths in 93 local governments across 18 states.

Comparing the now report with that of 2024, NCDC highlighted that in week 19, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 10 in EPI week 18, of 2025 to 3. These were reported in Ondo, Edo, and Benue States.

It added that cumulatively in week 19, 2025, 140 deaths have been reported with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 19.4% which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (18.1%). This shows that, in total for 2025, 18 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 93 Local Government Areas

Also, seventy-one (71%) of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from three states (Ondo, Bauchi and Taraba) while 28% were reported from 15 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases. Of the 71% confirmed cases, Ondo reported 30%, Bauchi 25%, and Taraba 16%.

NCDC noted that the predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 96 years, Median Age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8

It, however, noted that the number of suspected and confirmed cases decreased compared to that reported for the same period in 2024.

The agency, while noting that no new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 19, said it has activated the national Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System to coordinate response activities.

Nigeria Lassa Fever Deaths Rise To 140 is first published on The Whistler Newspaper