The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 318 cases of Lassa fever and 70 associated deaths across the country, pushing the case fatality rate to 22 per cent and heightening concerns over early detection, access to treatment and preparedness in high-burden states.

The Director-General of the agency, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja during a press briefing on the ongoing outbreak.

Idris said that five states accounted for 91 per cent of the confirmed cases, while only 10 Local Government Areas were responsible for 68 per cent of infections recorded so far. He also revealed that 15 healthcare workers had been infected in the current outbreak.

According to him, the NCDC had activated its Incident Management System to coordinate the national response and now holds weekly National Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre meetings to assess developments and guide interventions at the state level.

He added that National Rapid Response Teams had been deployed to Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Benue and Jigawa states, with additional deployments to be carried out as the situation demands.

Idris said laboratory testing supplies had been distributed across the NCDC laboratory network, while treatment centres nationwide had received medical countermeasures, including personal protective equipment, essential treatment materials and dialysis support for severe cases.

Addressing infections among healthcare workers, he explained that investigations conducted over the past two years identified poor infection prevention and control practices, low suspicion of Lassa fever in high-risk areas, and delayed care-seeking due to stigma as major contributing factors.

He said the agency had written to Commissioners for Health nationwide to reinforce compliance with infection prevention and control standards in health facilities, while advisories had also been issued directly to healthcare workers.

The NCDC boss noted that the agency continued to disseminate public health information on preventive measures such as rodent control and safe food storage, and had distributed social and behavioural change communication materials to state health promotion officers and risk communication stakeholders.

He also said the centre actively monitored rumours and public perceptions to counter misinformation, citing a recent rumour at a National Youth Service Corps camp in Kwara State, which was promptly investigated and clarified in collaboration with state authorities.

However, Idris identified several challenges undermining the response, including weak state ownership, gaps in contact tracing, inadequate funding for public awareness campaigns, poor data reporting systems and inconsistent enforcement of infection prevention measures in some health facilities.

He further expressed concern over reports of substandard operations at some treatment centres, cases of patients absconding, and disruptions to safe burial practices due to limited resources.

Idris also observed that dialysis machines donated to manage severe Lassa fever cases were underutilised in some facilities, while high service charges in certain centres could limit access to care.

He stressed that effective outbreak control depends largely on stronger state-level coordination and urged state governments to intensify active case searches, strengthen risk communication, eliminate financial barriers to treatment and enforce infection prevention and control measures across all health facilities.

The NCDC Director-General added that collaboration with relevant federal ministries and agencies, including those responsible for health, environment, food security, veterinary services and livestock development, was ongoing under the One Health framework.

He reiterated that controlling the outbreak begins at the community level and requires sustained political commitment from state governments to reduce fatalities and prevent further spread.