Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025117 (Oral 112) | Published: 14 Aug 2025
Stephenson Babatunde Ojeifo1,&, Ekaete Alice Tobin2, Cyril Adams Oshiomhole3, Stanley Ehiarimwian4, Blessing Adeyan1, Minna Denyinye Hitlar1, Mercy Onize Okuo1,Oladipupo Banji Ipadeola5, Isaac Osahogie Edeawe2, Alphonsus Aigberiomolen6, Rita Okonkwo7, Nora Eyo8, Kester Onosetale Okoduwa9, Wisdom Okon William10
1Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, 2Institute of Viral and Emergent Pathogens Control and Research, Irrua, Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria, 3Honourable Commissioner’s Office, Ministry of Health, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, 4Permanent Secretary’s Office, Ministry of Health, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, 5Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Abuja, FCT, Nigeria, 6Department of Community Medicine, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria, 7Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), Abuja, FCT, Nigeria, 8World Health Organization, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, 9Data.Fi, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria, 10Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Stephenson Ojeifo, Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, Email: prsteveoje@gmail.com/prsteveoje@yahoo.com
Received: 11 Jun 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 16 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa Fever, Outbreak, Risk factors, Response
©Stephenson Babatunde Ojeifo 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: Stephenson Babatunde Ojeifo et al., Sociocultural and environmental risk factors sustaining Lassa fever transmission in endemic communities of Edo State, Nigeria: Implications for targeted prevention strategies. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00112. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00112
Lassa fever remains a significant public health threat in West Africa. Edo State, Nigeria, is a hyperendemic region, ranking second nationally in case burden, with seasonal case fatality rates exceeding 15%. Despite annual response efforts, outbreaks continue to occur, suggesting that sociocultural, behavioural and environmental drivers remain inadequately addressed. This study, commissioned by the Edo State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Lassa Fever Incident Management Team, explored the risk factors sustaining Lassa fever transmission in most affected communities.
A cross-sectional mixed method study was conducted between March and July 2024 in 11 high burden communities across three local government areas in Edo State, selected through a multistage sampling process. Structured interviewer administered questionnaires captured data on sociodemographic characteristics, sociocultural, behavioural practices, environmental conditions, and rodent exposure pathways. Physical inspections of homes and surroundings were conducted using standardized checklists. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21.0.
Of 422 individuals approached, 331 consented to participate (response rate: 78.4%). Respondents were predominantly female (68.3%), married (70.7%), had attained secondary education (54.1%), and engaged in small-scale business (45.3%). Rodenticides were the most used rodent control method (81.3%), although only 65.4% considered them effective. Behavioural risk factors included widespread consumption of water-soaked Garri (80.7%) and bushmeat (19.6%). Open-air food drying was mentioned by 38 (11.5%) respondents. Environmental risks included cracked housing structures (36.7%) and refuse accumulation near dwellings (32.8%). Sociocultural exposures included contact with individuals who died of undiagnosed illnesses (5.0%) and with haemorrhagic symptoms (7.3%).
Lassa fever transmission is sustained by behavioural, environmental, and sociocultural risk factors. To effectively prevent outbreaks, urgent action is needed through integrated, context-specific interventions, including improved environmental sanitation, targeted behavioural change interventions and appropriate risk communication strategies to disrupt transmission pathways and achieve long-term outbreak prevention.
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