Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025149 (Poster 007) | Published: 24 Jul 2025
Ebelechukwu Chinwe Metuh1,&, William Nwachukwu1, Rejoice Luka-Lawal1, Yetunde Abioye1, Sandra Mba1, Bala Buratai1, Stephen Ohuneni1, Chinedu Okoroafor1, Bright Onwe1, Chukwuemeka Okeh1, Sulaiman Abubakar1, Hamza Musa1, Kabiru Bajoga2, Bile Nuhu2, Chijioke Mba3, Olusola Abioye4, Fatima Saleh1, Olajide Idris1
1Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Abuja, Nigeria, 2Gombe Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, Gombe state, Nigeria, 3Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, 4Research Triangle Institute, United States of America
&Corresponding author: Ebelechukwu Chinwe Metuh1&, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 801 Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria, Email: ebelechukwu.metuh@ncdc.gov.ng
Received: 5 Apr 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 24 Jul 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Cross-Border Surveillance
Keywords: Lassa fever, surveillance, preparedness, Nigeria, regional coordination
©Ebelechukwu Chinwe Metuh et al Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Marion Okoh-OwEbelechukwu Chinwe Metuh et al Against the clock: Strengthening cross-border surveillance and data sharing: insights from Gombe state’s lassa fever outbreak and response. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00151. https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00151
Lassa fever (LF) endemicity in West Africa poses amplified risks due to population mobility and health system gaps. A LF outbreak in Gombe State, Nigeria (December 2024–February 2025), a non-hotspot state exposed gaps in regional health security, cross-border surveillance and coordination. The index case (a traveler from Taraba State) highlighted interstate border transmission risks. This study reviews Gombe state’s 2024/2025 LF outbreak data to strengthen LF outbreak control, enhance future outbreak preparedness and effective regional collaboration.
Nigeria’s National Rapid Response Team (NRRT) conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study of Gombe state LF cases between December 2024–February 2025 across nine (82%) of the Local Government Areas (LGAs) from 12th–27th February 2025. Activities included active case finding, retrospective health record reviews, laboratory testing, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) assessments, environmental assessment, community engagement and interstate collaboration. Interventions focused on strengthening IPC programs, harmonizing surveillance data, and promoting cross-border collaboration.
A total of 11 confirmed cases and 6 deaths (55% CFR) were recorded. Six (55%) of the confirmed cases were from Taraba (5) and Bauchi (1) respectively. Challenges included fragmented surveillance data (30% completeness pre intervention), inadequate IPC infrastructure (40% compliance), and weak interstate coordination. Post intervention, improvements were recorded in data harmonization (87% post intervention), enhanced IPC compliance (75% facilities), increased community awareness (90% coverage) and high-level advocacy for regional collaboration among the neighboring northeastern states
The NRRT’s integrated approach during the LF response in Gombe demonstrates the value of multisectoral, cross-border, and regional coordination in stopping infectious disease transmission, ensuring national health security and providing a scalable model for managing future outbreaks in non-hotspot states. Institutionalizing cross-border surveillance and sustaining regional collaboration, supported by regional funding (Northeast Development Commission) and policy mandates are essential for long term public health resilience in Nigeria.
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