Nigeria recorded 33 new confirmed cases of Lassa fever in Epidemiological Week 49, with the national case fatality rate (CFR) rising to 18.2 per cent, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said.
The NCDC disclosed that the new infections, reported from Bauchi, Ondo, Edo, and Taraba states, brought the total confirmed cases in 2025 to 1,069, with eight deaths recorded during the week.
In its Lassa Fever Situation Report covering December 1–7, 2025, the agency said the eight deaths represented a weekly CFR of 24.2 per cent. It added that 9,041 suspected cases and seven probable cases have been recorded nationwide this year, while cumulative deaths rose to 195, compared with 16.5 per cent CFR recorded during the same period in 2024.
According to the NCDC, 21 states and 103 local government areas have reported at least one confirmed case in 2025. Four states—Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, and Taraba—accounted for 89 per cent of all confirmed infections, with Ondo State recording the highest number of cases.
The report showed that young adults aged 21 to 30 years were the most affected, although infections ranged across all age groups, from one to 96 years. Cases were slightly higher among males than females, and no new infections were reported among healthcare workers during the week.
The NCDC said it continues to coordinate a national multi-partner response through its Lassa Fever Technical Working Group, including community sensitisation, training of healthcare workers, infection prevention audits, behavioural assessments, deployment of rapid response teams, and strengthening laboratory and treatment capacity in affected states.
Nigeria Has Only One WHO-Prequalified Antimalarial
Meanwhile, the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) revealed that Nigeria currently has only one World Health Organisation (WHO)-prequalified antimalarial product, as efforts intensify to expand local pharmaceutical capacity.
The disclosure was made during a four-day Technical Support and Capacity Workshop for pharmaceutical companies held in Lagos, organised under the National Malaria Elimination Programme with support from the World Bank.
NIPRD said the lone WHO-prequalified antimalarial is produced by Swiss Pharma Nigeria, highlighting the urgent need to boost local participation in the $161 million global antimalarial market.
Speaking at the workshop, NIPRD Director-General, Dr Obi Adigwe, said the programme aimed to provide hands-on guidance on the WHO prequalification application process, including documentation, bioavailability and bioequivalence studies, and laboratory quality assurance systems.
He identified limited awareness, funding constraints, outdated equipment, and weak technical capacity as key challenges facing local manufacturers.
Also speaking, Okoko Okefu Oyale, Director and Project Manager of the IMPACT project under the National Malaria Initiative, said WHO prequalification would allow Nigerian pharmaceutical companies to compete both locally and internationally.
Participants described the workshop as an eye-opener that clarified the technical, strategic, and economic benefits of attaining WHO prequalification.