Lassa Fever Death Toll Hits 152 in 2025 as Ondo, Edo, Benue Record New Cases

Lassa fever has claimed at least 152 lives across Nigeria in 2025, with new infections recently reported in Ondo, Edo, and Benue states.

This was revealed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) in its latest situation report for epidemiological week 28. According to the agency, the number of new cases remains unchanged from the previous week.

The NCDC noted that the current case fatality rate stands at 18.7 percent, exceeding the 17.3 percent recorded during the same period in 2024.

So far this year, confirmed cases have been reported in 21 states, affecting 105 local government areas across the country.

The majority of infections have been concentrated in five states. Ondo accounts for 32 percent of all confirmed cases, followed by Bauchi with 23 percent, Edo with 17 percent, Taraba with 14 percent, and Ebonyi with three percent. Combined, these five states represent 89 percent of total cases, while the remaining 11 percent were reported in 16 other states.

The most affected demographic continues to be individuals aged 21 to 30, with a median age of 30. The male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases is approximately one to 0.8.

Although both suspected and confirmed cases have declined compared to the same period in 2024, the number of deaths remains significantly high.

The report also confirmed that no new infections were recorded among health workers during the reporting week.