The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has disclosed that Lassa fever fatalities have risen sharply this year, despite a decline in new confirmed cases in the latest reporting week.
In its Epidemiological Week 13 report made available to news men in Abuja, the NCDC said 167 deaths have been recorded so far within the year.
The Nigerian Public Health Institute said the case fatality rate (CFR) stood at 25.2 per cent, significantly higher than the 18.5 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.
According to the report, 26 new confirmed cases were recorded in Week 13, a decrease from 51 cases reported in the previous week.
The cases were reported across seven states – Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Ebonyi, Benue, and Kaduna.
But the agency noted that the overall burden of the disease remained high, with a total of 663 confirmed cases out of 3,831 suspected cases reported across 22 states and 93 local government areas so far this year.

 

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