Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has documented 1,025 confirmed Lassa fever cases out of 8,484 suspected cases in 28 states and 128 local government areas nationwide.
The center also documented 174 deaths, with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 17.0%.
This is according to the Lassa fever situation report for week 40, obtained from the NCDC on Wednesday.
According to the World Health Organization, Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family.
Humans are typically infected with the Lassa virus by contact with food or household objects contaminated with the urine or feces of infected Mastomys rats.
The disease is endemic among rodents in portions of West Africa.
Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Nigeria, and it is likely that it also exists in other West African countries.
“Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in healthcare settings in the absence of adequate infection prevention and control measures,” according to the International Health Organization.
According to the NCDC data, the number of new confirmed cases in week 40 reduced from nine in week 39 of epidemiology in 2024 to seven, with cases reported in Ondo and Edo states.
