Nigeria: Government Responds to Lassa Fever Outbreak

Nigeria has a population of 236,747,130 people; GDP per capita in 2023: $5,700. (Map: who.int; Data: CIA)

The Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate multi-sectoral response to the ongoing outbreak of Lassa fever.
Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) caused by the Lassa virus. The natural reservoir for the virus is the multimammate rat also known as the African rat, even though other rodents can also act as carriers of the virus.


Nigerian health experts conferring in Abuja. (Photo: Fred Ezeh)


Lassa fever initially presents like other common illnesses accompanied by a fever, such as malaria. Other symptoms include headache, general body weakness, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains, chest pain, sore throat, and, in severe cases, bleeding from ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and other body openings.

The NCDC reported that Lassa fever has claimed 401 lives between 2023 and 2024 (13 Oct):

“In 2023, 28 states and 114 LGAs reported confirmed cases, with 9,155 suspected cases, 1,270 confirmed cases, and 227 deaths. As of 13 Oct 2024, 8,569 suspected cases, 1,035 confirmed cases, and 174 deaths have been reported across 28 states and 129 LGAs.

NCDC statement: “Sadly, we have continued to see a steady increase in the number of states reporting Lassa fever cases, attributing it to improved surveillance, better community awareness, environmental degradation from climate change, and other harmful human activities.”


The cute culprit: The Multimammate rat. (Credit: inaturalist.org)


The US CDC suspects that that a traveler returning from western Africa to Iowa succumbed from Lassa fever this year, but that the risk to the general American public is extremely low.


Sources:

https://thesun.ng/ncdc-activates-emergency-operation-centre-for-lassa-fever/?amp

https://nairametrics.com/2024/12/23/lassa-fever-1154-confirmed-cases-190-deaths-and-9492-suspected-nationwide-recorded-in-2024-ncdc/

CIA

https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/lassa-fever---nigeria

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s1028-lassa-fever.html