Nigeria Issues Warning Over Lassa Fever Cases
(MENAFN) Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) issued an urgent alert on Monday due to an escalating Lassa fever outbreak within the country.
The health authority verified that over 800 individuals have contracted the illness, and 151 have died in the first six months of 2025.
As per the Week 27 epidemiological bulletin shared on X by the agency, the national case fatality rate has now reached 18.9%, reflecting an increase from the 17.3% rate recorded during the same timeframe in the previous year.
The NCDC highlighted that the total number of confirmed infections had climbed to 11 across six states—Ondo, Edo, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Lagos, and Enugu—up from nine the previous week.
Additionally, three new deaths linked to the disease have been documented.
Lassa fever is a severe and rapid-onset viral hemorrhagic disease, found predominantly in regions of West Africa.
The virus was initially discovered in Nigeria in 1969.
It is commonly spread to people through exposure to food or domestic items tainted with urine or droppings from rodents.
Transmission between humans is also possible, especially in hospitals with inadequate infection prevention protocols.
The early symptoms of Lassa fever resemble those of the flu, featuring a "sore throat," "muscle pain," "cough," "nausea," "vomiting," and "diarrhea."
In its more advanced stages, the illness can cause swelling of the face, fluid buildup in the lungs, and severe bleeding from the "mouth," "nose," and other body openings.
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