The latest figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) paint a sobering picture of the country's ongoing battle with Lassa fever.
As of December 21, 2025, Nigeria has recorded 1,119 confirmed cases and 206 deaths--a case fatality rate of 18.4 per cent. This represents a troubling increase from the 16.4 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.
While the weekly infection rate has shown some decline, with 21 new cases in week 51 compared to 28 in week 50, these numbers should not inspire complacency. They reveal a persistent public health crisis that demands urgent and comprehensive intervention.
The geographical concentration of cases is particularly striking. Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba and Edo states account for 88 per cent of all confirmed infections, with 21 states and 105 local government areas recording at least one case in 2025.
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This clustering suggests that certain regions face specific vulnerabilities--whether in terms of environmental conditions, healthcare infrastructure, public awareness, or rodent control measures--that make them recurring hotspots for the disease.
The fact that these same states continue to bear the brunt of infections year after year points to a failure to address the root causes of transmission in these areas.
It is instructive to note that Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic illness transmitted primarily through contact with infected rodents or contaminated surfaces, thrives in environments where sanitation is poor and rodent populations are uncontrolled.
The disease is endemic to West Africa, and Nigeria has long been one of the most affected countries. Yet despite this familiarity, the federal and state governments have struggled to implement effective prevention strategies.
The dry season, which typically sees an uptick in cases as rodents move closer to human settlements in search of food and water, is now fully underway. This makes the current period especially critical for intensified public health interventions.
One bright spot in the NCDC's report is that no new infections among healthcare workers were recorded in week 51. This is significant, as healthcare workers are on the frontlines of diagnosis and treatment, often exposed to infected patients in under-resourced facilities.
Their protection through proper infection control measures, personal protective equipment, and training is essential not only for their safety but also for maintaining the capacity to respond to outbreaks.
However, the fact that this is noteworthy at all speaks to the precarious conditions under which many health workers operate. In a properly functioning healthcare system, protecting health workers from occupational infections should be the norm, not an achievement.
The NCDC has rightly emphasized the importance of early reporting, proper sanitation, and rodent control in high-risk communities. But these recommendations have been issued repeatedly over the years with little evidence of systematic follow-through at the state and local government levels.
Early reporting requires functioning surveillance systems and accessible healthcare facilities where people can seek diagnosis without prohibitive costs or long travel distances.
Proper sanitation and rodent control demand sustained investment in waste management infrastructure, environmental health programs, and community education--all of which have been chronically underfunded in most affected states.
The recurring nature of Lassa fever outbreaks in the same geographic areas suggests that emergency responses alone are insufficient.
What is needed is a shift toward proactive, long-term strategies that address the environmental and social determinants of the disease. This includes improving housing conditions to minimize rodent contact, ensuring proper food storage, expanding access to clean water and sanitation, and building local capacity for rodent population control.
It also requires sustained public education campaigns that go beyond sporadic warnings during outbreak peaks to embed prevention practices into community norms.
The federal government, through the NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health, must work more closely with state governments to ensure that high-burden states receive targeted support. This should include dedicated funding for environmental health interventions, mobile health units to improve access in rural areas, and training programs for local health workers on Lassa fever diagnosis and case management.
States that continue to account for the majority of infections cannot be left to manage the crisis with inadequate resources and weak institutional capacity.
There is also a need for greater transparency and accountability in tracking the use of funds allocated for disease control. It is not enough to release situation reports and issue advisories. The public and state governments need to see concrete evidence that resources are being deployed effectively--whether in the form of new diagnostic centers, expanded surveillance networks, or community-level interventions that reduce transmission risk.
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Without this accountability, the same states will continue to dominate infection statistics year after year, and the same preventable deaths will continue to occur.
Nigeria's experience with Lassa fever is a reminder that infectious disease control is not solely a medical challenge--it is fundamentally a question of governance, infrastructure, and social equity.
The disease disproportionately affects poor and rural communities where sanitation is inadequate, housing is substandard, and healthcare is inaccessible.
Addressing Lassa fever therefore requires addressing these broader inequalities, not just responding to outbreaks as they occur.
The NCDC deserves credit for maintaining surveillance and reporting systems that allow the country to track the disease's spread.
But surveillance alone does not save lives. It is time for federal and state authorities to move beyond data collection and advisory statements to implement the sustained, resource-backed interventions that can break the cycle of recurring outbreaks.
Nigerians living in high-burden states should not have to face this preventable disease year after year while waiting for their governments to act.
