Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has stated that Ondo, Bauchi and Edo states are the epicentres of the Lassa fever outbreak in the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that Director-General (DG) of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, addressed the Lassa Fever surge in the country during a media briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.
The DG noted tthat those states accounted for over 70 per cent of confirmed cases reported so far in 2025.
He added that that the three states contributed 71% of the 660 confirmed Lassa fever cases recorded between January and the end of March 2025, with Ondo accounting for 30%, Bauchi, 25%, and Edo, 16%.
Idris noted that NCDC had intensified a nationwide multi-sectoral response through its activated incident management system at the national level to coordinate the public health emergency across affected states.
He said, “As the cases surge in these epicentre states, our response is focused on early detection, case management, risk communication, and community engagement. The transmission remains active in multiple local councils, with 28 states and 125 councils affected this year.”
The DG noted that 122 deaths had so far been recorded, resulting in a case fatality rate of 18.5%, higher than the 17.5% recorded during the same period in 2024.
To combat the spread, Idris said NCDC had deployed national rapid response teams to hotspot areas, trained healthcare workers on infection prevention and control, and scaled up community sensitization.
The DG further highlighted the importance of early presentation to health facilities to reduce fatalities.
Dr. Idris noted that the agency is collaborating with key partners like World Health Organization (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) to bolster surveillance, clinical care, and public awareness, and to support research initiatives aimed at enhancing outbreak preparedness and response.
