Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025461 (Poster 110 | Published: 06 Aug 2025
Bio Belu Abaye1,&, Jones Yerinbuluemi Stow1, Diemebonso Oyaba2, Dimie Ogoina3, Juliet Obele1, Tarinabo Okardi1
1Public Health Department, Bayelsa State Ministry of Health, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, Nigeria, 2Primary Healthcare Department, Yenagoa Local Government Council, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, 3Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Bio Belu Abaye, Bayelsa State Ministry of Health, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, Email: beluabaye@yahoo.co.uk
Received: 31 May 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 06 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, index case, naïve
©Bio Belu Abaye 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: Bio Belu Abaye et al., Report of first confirmed Lassa fever case in Bayelsa State, a non-endemic State in Nigeria – 2023. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00254. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00254
Lassa fever, an endemic viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) in Nigeria, is relatively unknown in Bayelsa State, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This first confirmed Lassa fever case, a mortality, drew attention to the risk of Lassa fever outbreak emergence in non-endemic States like Bayelsa State, with potentially high mortality.
Records in the referring and referral hospitals were reviewed and case investigation done in the latter. Lassa fever PCR testing was done the National Reference Laboratory, Abuja. Counselling and testing of close contacts continued for three weeks to ensure safe burial and minimize transmission risk.
This index case was a 47-year-old female civil servant residing in Yenagoa, referred with a high index of suspicion for VHF from a private hospital to the State referral hospital, where she died within hours of admission. She had a history of immunosuppression and travels to states having confirmed cases. Her Lassa fever PCR result returned positive four days later. All contacts tested negative.
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