BENIN CITY: Edo State has remained one of the worst-hit states in Nigeria’s 2025 Lassa fever outbreak, with young adults bearing the highest burden of the disease, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

The NCDC, in its Lassa Fever Situation Report for Epidemiological Week 51, covering December 15 to 21, 2025, said 1,119 confirmed cases have been recorded nationwide, with Edo State listed among four states accounting for 88 percent of all infections.

The report showed that persons aged 21 to 30 years were the most affected nationwide, with the median age of confirmed cases put at 30 years. Males were also found to be slightly more affected than females, a trend the agency attributed to differences in exposure and health-seeking behaviour.

Edo State, alongside Ondo State, Bauchi State and Taraba State, continued to record high transmission levels, with Ondo State alone contributing 35 pervent of the total confirmed cases across the country.

Nationwide, 206 deaths have been recorded among confirmed cases in 2025, representing a case fatality rate of 18.4 perccent, higher than the 16.4 percent reported during the same period in 2024.

Within Epidemiological Week 51, 21 new confirmed cases and five deaths were reported from Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, Kogi, Ebonyi and Plateau states, a slight drop from the 28 cases recorded in the preceding week.

Overall, 21 states across 105 Local Government Areas have reported at least one confirmed Lassa fever case in 2025.

The NCDC identified late presentation at health facilities, poor health-seeking behaviour due to high treatment costs, and poor environmental sanitation in high-burden communities as major challenges hampering outbreak control, including in Edo State.

It urged healthcare workers in affected states to maintain a high index of suspicion, ensure early diagnosis and prompt treatment, while calling on state governments to intensify risk communication and community engagement to curb further spread.

The agency said it would continue to coordinate a multi-sectoral national response involving surveillance, case management, laboratory support, and infection prevention and control measures in affected and at-risk communities.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness transmitted mainly through contact with food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of infected rodents, though human-to-human transmission can also occur.