Lassa fever, the haemorrhagic virus endemic in parts of West Africa, is now surging with renewed force, overwhelming Nigeria’s fragile health systems and exposing dangerous gaps in preparedness.
Frontline employees are ill-prepared to stop the tide due to containment failures and ongoing underinvestment. Experts warn that the crisis is becoming one of the nation’s most urgent health emergencies as infection rates rise, according to CHIOMA UMEHA.
Experts have cautioned that despite decades of scientific warnings and numerous outbreaks, Nigeria’s fight against Lassa fever has remained dangerously inadequate, making the situation worse.
One of them, Prof. Dimie Ogoina, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases (NIDS), bemoaned the fact that the outbreak has entered a dangerous new phase due to a combination of growing infections, insufficient response, and structural flaws, necessitating immediate calls for decisive action.
Responding to questions on why containment efforts continue to fall short, Prof. Ogoina declared,
“The primary challenges are systemic weaknesses in our healthcare infrastructure and insufficient long-term investment in health security, especially at the sub-national level. As a result, responses to public health emergencies like Lassa fever outbreaks tend to be reactive rather than proactive,” the vice chancellor of Bayelsa Medical University, who is also the immediate past president of the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society (NIDS), said.
Nigeria’s cumulative case fatality rate (CFR) stood at 18.4 per cent in 2025, even as confirmed case numbers showed signs of decline. Professor Ogoina blamed this depressing figure on delayed presentation, a shortage of potent medications, and restricted access to specialised facilities.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) reported on Tuesday that Lassa fever has claimed 206 lives in Nigeria in 2025, with five deaths recorded in just one week, pushing the case fatality rate (CFR) to a staggering 23.8 per cent for the week and 18.4 per cent cumulatively for the year. This marks a sharp rise compared with the 16.4 per cent recorded at the same time in 2024.
He cautioned that “a suitable environment for recurrent outbreaks” has been created by the pervasiveness of rodent carriers and the lack of an effective vaccine or treatment.
Fragile State-Level Systems
Prof. Ogoina admitted that funds have been allocated to diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance, especially in specialised facilities located in high-burden states like Taraba, Ondo, Bauchi, and Edo.
Yet he stressed that early detection remains “nearly impossible” in community settings and most hospitals, as symptoms mimic other febrile illnesses and require advanced equipment for confirmation.
“Specialized treatment centers with modern laboratories and skilled personnel exist in the most affected states,” the professor of medicine and infectious diseases said, “but more centers are needed both within these states and in other regions. Many patients must travel long distances for care, leading to treatment delays and higher morbidity and mortality.”
“Most patients arrive at hospitals with advanced disease,” Prof. Ogoina explained. “Symptomatic Lassa fever patients often experience multi-organ dysfunction and need care in well-equipped centers where infection prevention and control practices can ensure safety for both patients and healthcare workers.”
Prof. Ogoina emphasised the significance of state-level ownership of public health measures while considering Nigeria’s responses to COVID-19 and Ebola.
He pointed out that both outbreaks benefited from support from the entire community, including private sector investment, but cautioned that once risk perception decreased, complacency repeatedly hampered progress.
Sustained State Support To Accelerate Vaccine and Therapeutic Development
The importance of socio-behavioral elements in maintaining transmission was emphasised by Professor Ogoina.
Community spread is still fuelled by behaviours like burning bushes, handling rodent meat improperly, and leaving food out in rodent-prone areas.
He urged systematic and ongoing risk communication, warning that public awareness peaks during outbreaks but rapidly declines.
Prof. Ogoina acknowledged federal investments but insisted they are still insufficient given the 206 lives lost in 2025.
He demanded increased contributions from non-governmental organisations, the private sector, and state governments.
“The major systemic gap is the lack of sustainable funding, which regularly impedes surveillance and preventive efforts,” the professor of medicine and infectious diseases said. Accelerated research leading to effective vaccines and therapeutics, he argued, would be “a decisive step forward in controlling Lassa fever in Nigeria.”
State Systems Struggle as Nigeria’s Epidemic Deepens, Iboma Sounds Alarm
Similarly, Dr Godswill Iboma, a senior lecturer at Eko University of Medicine (EkoUnimed), Ijanikin, Lagos, has raised the alarm, warning that the country’s epidemic response is crippled by fractured systems and poor coordination.
Iboma told INDEPENDENT on Saturday that the nation’s fight against Lassa fever has reached a crucial turning point. He lamented the absence of coordinated early warning indicators and emphasised the need for Nigeria’s health authorities to promptly localise diagnoses and escalate alerts in order to facilitate the prompt deployment of response teams.
Dr. Iboma, who is also the former Chief Medical Officer of Lagos State, lamented cracks in disease surveillance and the collapse of backup systems, including ambulances, which he described as symptomatic of a chain of failures within the nation’s healthcare infrastructure.
“The fatality rate remains stubbornly high,” Dr. Iboma declared, noting that 206 Nigerians died in 2025 as delays and funding gaps derailed the fight against the virus.
The former head of the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) emphasised that persistent Lassa fever outbreaks are caused by systemic, environmental, socioeconomic, and awareness flaws rather than by chance.
Environmental, Systemic Failures
According to Dr. Iboma, inadequate waste management, increased human exposure to rodents, and rats’ easy access to food due to incorrect handling and storage are environmental factors that have contributed to the spread of disease-carrying rodents.
The science-based Dr. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) advocate cautioned that the virus is still spreading due to the high birth rate of rodents, which is maintained by easy access to food.
Dr. Iboma went on to emphasise systemic healthcare shortcomings, citing inadequate and delayed diagnosis as a significant obstacle.
“Our diagnostic ability is poor. Lassa fever is often mistaken for malaria or typhoid, and by the time it is correctly identified, valuable time has been lost,” he said.
The problem has been made worse by a lack of specialised treatment facilities, the fact that only a few states are capable of managing the illness, and persistent underfunding of healthcare.
Socioeconomic realities, Dr. Iboma explained, also play a devastating role. Poverty, overcrowding, inadequate housing, and even the consumption of rodents as a source of protein in some communities have heightened vulnerability.
The lifestyle advocate pointed out that citizens’ poor health-seeking behaviour has made matters worse and exposed many to avoidable risks.
Way Forward on Lassa Fever
Equally troubling is the lack of public awareness.
“Many people simply do not know that rodents can transmit a deadly disease like Lassa fever,” Dr. Iboma warned, underscoring the urgent need for nationwide education campaigns.
Looking ahead, Dr. Iboma insisted that only a multi-sectoral approach can turn the tide. He called for robust disease surveillance, effective outbreak response, and aggressive rodent control measures.
Improved waste management, strengthened healthcare systems, and investment in vaccine research are critical, the public health reformer with advanced training in parasitology said, noting that no vaccine currently exists for Lassa fever.
He urged government authorities to formulate and implement clear policies to confront the epidemic head-on.
“The war against Lassa fever can only be won if Nigeria commits to coordinated action, sustained funding, and genuine political will,” Dr Iboma concluded, warning that failure to act decisively will leave the nation trapped in a cycle of preventable death.
This report was produced by the editorial team at The Gazette News | Latest News In Nigeria & the World in line with our commitment to accuracy, fairness, and responsible journalism. Information in this article is based on verified sources available at the time of publication. The Gazette News | Latest News In Nigeria & the World may update the story as new facts emerge or additional context becomes available.
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