Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025304 (Oral 043) | Published: 12 Aug 2025
Paul Iziomo1, Gboyega Famokun2, Emmanuel Awosanya3, Victor Akinseye1,4, Stephen Fagbemi2, Simeon Cadmus1,3,4,5,&
1Damien Foundation Centre for Genomics and Global Health, University of Ibadan, Nigeria,2Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Ondo State, Nigeria, 3Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, 4Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, 5Centre for Control and Prevention of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Simeon Cadmus, Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Email: simeonc5@gmail.com
Received: 15 May 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 12 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, case fatality rate, cases, Ondo State, disease
©Paul Iziomo 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: Paul Iziomo et al., Epidemiological insight into the pattern of Lassa fever in Ondo State from January 2022 to February 2025. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00043. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00043
Lassa fever (LF) remains endemic in several West African countries and contributes substantially to annual morbidity and mortality. Nigeria bears one of the highest burdens of the disease in the region, with 645 confirmed cases and 118 deaths reported between January and March 2025. This study aims to describe the pattern of LF cases in Ondo State, Nigeria, from 2022 to 2025
A secondary analysis of 8036 suspected LF cases recorded in Ondo State from January 2022 to February 2025 was conducted. The dataset was obtained from the Ondo State Ministry of Health disease registry. Only confirmed cases were included in the analysis. Data was analysed using R programming software version 4.3.3 and SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were carried out, while the Chi-square test was used to test for significant differences in the death and case counts across the years at p < 0.05
Preliminary results showed that 1387 confirmed cases with 189 deaths (case fatality ratio (CFR): 13.63%) were recorded from January 2022 to February 2025. The highest number of confirmed cases, 446 (32.16%), was recorded in 2023, while 120 (8.65%) confirmed cases were recorded between January and February 2025. The highest CFR 67 (16.38%) was recorded in 2022, while the lowest was 48 (11.65%) in 2024. The CFR for 2022 was significantly higher than in 2023, 2024, and 2025
The declining CFR is suggestive of progress in the management of LF cases in Ondo State. However, the high number of cases recorded within the first two months of 2025 is alarming. This trend may reflect enhanced surveillance efforts or the emergence of a more virulent strain of LF virus in the region. Further analysis is ongoing to have a better insight into the underlying factors contributing to this surge
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