Picture this: Nigeria battling a silent rodent killer where young hustlers aged 21-30 take the biggest hit—1,119 confirmed Lassa fever cases last year, with deaths climbing to a scary 18.4% fatality rate.
NCDC’s latest Week 51 report (Dec 15-21) shows males slightly more affected, median patient age 30, with 206 total deaths—worse than 2024’s 16.4%. Week 51 logged 21 new cases and 5 deaths across Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, Kogi, Ebonyi, Plateau—down from 28 prior week.
Ondo (35%), Bauchi, Edo, Taraba drive 88% of infections across 21 states/105 LGAs. Challenges? Late hospital runs, costly care, filthy surroundings in high-burden spots fueling spread via rat urine on food/items or human contact.
NCDC urges docs to suspect Lassa early, states to ramp up community alerts, sanitation. They’ll coordinate surveillance, labs, prevention nationwide—stay vigilant, trap those rats.
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