Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Jun 18;13(6):1419.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms13061419.

A Review of the Epidemiology of Lassa Fever in Nigeria

Danny Asogun  1   2 , Bosede Arogundade  3 , Faith Unuabonah  1   4 , Olorunkemi Olugbenro  1   5 , Joyce Asogun  1 , Fatelyn Aluede  1   2 , Deborah Ehichioya  1   5
Affiliations
Review

A Review of the Epidemiology of Lassa Fever in Nigeria

Danny Asogun et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic illness that first came into the limelight as a clinical entity in 1969 when it was discovered in Northern Nigeria, is now found in other West African countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, and the Benin Republic. Over the years, the disease, which is primarily transmitted from contact with infected mastomys rodents to humans, has the capability of secondary human-to-human transmission with significant morbidity and mortality, especially in healthcare settings. The disease is typically characterized by seasonal outbreaks, which peak during the dry season months of December to March. Lassa fever significantly impacts public health and the socioeconomic life of people in affected communities. In Nigeria, the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Strategy (IDSR), along with other medical countermeasures, have been employed to curtail the impact of the disease in endemic regions of Nigeria and other West Africa countries. The one-health approach to combat the disease is a promising strategy. This, along with the hope of a safe and effective vaccine, is a ray of hope on the horizon for public health authorities in Nigeria and other West African countries that the battle against Lassa fever might indeed end sooner than later.

Keywords: Lassa fever virus; epidemiology; outbreaks; response; surveillance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends of suspected cases, confirmed cases, and death reported between 2018 and 2023.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The prevalence of confirmed Lassa fever cases by state in Nigeria, year 2023 [38], displaying the cumulative number of cases in each state from Week 1 to Week 52 (annual).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The prevalence of confirmed Lassa fever cases across states in Nigeria, year 2024 [32], displaying the cumulative number of cases in each state from Week 1 to Week 52 (annual).
Figure 1
Figure 1
The different Lassa virus lineages (I–VII) in West African countries [30].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Improvements in Lassa fever surveillance: adapted from [77].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lukashevich I.S., Stelmakh T.A., Golubev V.P., Stchesljenok E.P., Lemeshko N.N. Ribonucleic acids of Machupo and Lassa viruses. Arch. Virol. 1984;79:189–203. doi: 10.1007/BF01310811. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Klitting R., Mehta S.B., Oguzie J.U., Oluniyi P.E., Pauthner M.G., Siddle K.J., Andersen K.G., Happi C.T., Sabeti P.C. Lassa Fever: Epidemiology, Immunology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics. Springer; Cham, Switzerland: 2020. Lassa virus genetics; pp. 23–65. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Frame J.D., Baldwin J.J., Gocke D.J., Troup J.M. Lassa fever, a new virus disease of man from West Africa. I. Clinical description and pathological findings. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1970;19:670–676. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1970.19.670. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Akpede G.O., Asogun D.A., Okogbenin S.A., Okokhere P.O. Lassa fever outbreaks in Nigeria. Expert Rev. Anti. Infect. Ther. 2018;16:663–666. doi: 10.1080/14787210.2018.1512856. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agbonlahor D.E., Akpede G.O., Happi C.T., Tomori O. 52 Years of Lassa Fever outbreaks in Nigeria, 1969–2020: An epidemiologic analysis of the temporal and spatial trends. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 2021;105:974–985. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1160. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources