The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has intensified calls for heightened community awareness and early medical intervention as the country faces a persistent surge in Lassa fever cases.
Health officials are warning that delays in seeking treatment and low preventive knowledge continue to fuel fatalities, even as overall infection numbers fluctuate.
Analysis of recent patterns shows that outbreak clusters remain concentrated in Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, and Edo states, which together account for nearly nine out of every ten confirmed cases.
This geographical concentration underscores the uneven distribution of risk and points to environmental and behavioural factors, including improper waste disposal, open-air food storage, and limited rodent control measures, as key drivers of transmission.
Data also reveals that the most affected age group is between 21 and 30 years, a demographic often engaged in activities that increase exposure to rodent habitats, such as farming, market trading, and handling food in communal settings.
Despite the surge, healthcare facilities have seen no new infections among health workers, suggesting that institutional precautions and protective measures are largely effective within clinical settings.
The agency has highlighted that high treatment costs and poor health-seeking behaviour remain major barriers to reducing fatalities. Communities with limited access to healthcare infrastructure often delay hospital visits, which allows the virus to progress unchecked.
In response, the NCDC is emphasising year-round preventive measures, including environmental hygiene, safe food storage, and rapid referral of suspected cases to medical centres.
By focusing on preventive action at the community level and ensuring timely intervention, public health authorities aim to reduce the human and economic burden of Lassa fever while mitigating the risks of larger outbreaks in the coming year.
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