NCDC activates Level Two response as Lassa fever kills 118
31 March 2025 |
5:05 am
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 645 Lassa fever cases out of 3,465 suspected cases from January to March 2025, in 33 states, across 91 local councils.
• Records 807 meningitis cases, 74 deaths in 22 states
• 80% of meningitis patients may die without early access to treatment, says MSF
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 645 Lassa fever cases out of 3,465 suspected cases from January to March 2025, in 33 states, across 91 local councils.
Also at the weekend, it said the country recorded a total of 807 suspected cases of cerebrospinal meningitis, and 74 deaths from 22 states as of March 26, 2025.
The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders estimated that up to 80 per cent of meningitis patients may die without early access to treatment.
This was as the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, activated the Lassa Fever National Emergency Operations Centre at Response Level Two in an effort to respond and strengthen outbreak control.
The Head of Corporate Communication at NCDC, Sani Datti, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus. The natural reservoir for the virus is the multimammate rat (also known as the African rat), although other rodents can also act as carriers.
“During the period, January to March 2025, NCDC recorded 3,465 suspected cases of Lassa fever across 91 local councils in 33 states. Out of the figure, 645 cases were confirmed and, sadly, 118 lives lost resulting in a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.3 per cent.
“Unfortunately, 20 healthcare workers have been infected: eight in Ondo, four in Bauchi, two each in Taraba and Gombe, one each in Edo, Ebonyi, Benue, and Ogun states,” the public health institute stated.
It added that in line with its commitment to an effective response, the agency deployed Rapid Response Teams to Kogi, Plateau, Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Taraba, Benue, Gombe and Nasarawa states for two weeks between January and March 2025.
NCDC put the CFR for meningitis at 9.2 per cent as of March 26, 2025 .
The centre disclosed this in a statement entitled, ‘CSM outbreak: NCDC rapid response teams in Kebbi, Sokoto and Katsina states’, signed by Datti, on Thursday.
It said its Rapid Response Teams were already in Kebbi, Sokoto and Katsina states in response to the ongoing outbreak of CSM.
The deployment reportedly follows a significant increase in suspected cases reported from the states.
“As of March 26, 2025, a total of 807 suspected cases and 74 deaths were reported across 22 states, with a CFR of 9.2 per cent. Affected states include Kebbi, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi, Oyo, Bauchi, Ondo, Kaduna, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Ekiti, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
THE MSF statement came as the organisation warned that meningitis, particularly the Neisseria meningitidis strain present in Nigeria, was a highly lethal disease if left untreated.
This was contained in a statement signed by MSF Field Communications Manager, Teresa Krug, a copy of which was made available to the press in Kano.
The statement reads: “Since early March, meningitis – an extremely infectious and deadly disease – has been spreading rapidly throughout several states across Northwest Nigeria, primarily in Kebbi and Sokoto states.”
He disclosed that healthcare workers in Northern Nigeria faced a race against time.
“The situation is alarming because meningitis kills quickly if a patient does not reach the hospital early enough,” said MSF medical doctor Bukar Galtimari, based in Kebbi, the hardest-hit region in Nigeria. “You see a mother come in with two or three children affected, and due to the nature of the disease and how quickly it spreads, the threat to their lives is very real.”
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