Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025308 (Oral 098) | Published: 14 Aug 2025
Suleiman Idris Ahmad1,2,&, Yahya Mohammed3, Frank DeStefano4,5, Francisco Averhoff4,5, Gavin Cloherty4,5, Carolyn Strobel4,5, Mary Rodgers4,5, Michael Berg4,5, Mustapha Umar Imam2, Nuhu Aliyu Dogondaji6, Muhammad Shakir Balogun1
1Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (NFELTP), Africa Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Abuja, Nigeria, 2Centre for Advanced Medical Research and Training (CAMRET), Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, 3Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, 4Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, IL USA, 5Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, Abbott Park, IL, USA, 6Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sokoto State, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Suleiman Idris Ahmad, Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (NFELTP), Africa Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Abuja, Nigeria, Email: suleimanai001@gmail.com
Received: 31 May 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 14 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Mortality, Post-mortem examination, Public health surveillance, Viral hemorrhagic fevers, Lassa fever, Malaria
©Suleiman Idris Ahmad 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: Suleiman Idris Ahmad et al., Uncovering the hidden burden of Lassa fever through post-mortem mortality surveillance in Sokoto state, Nigeria, 2024-2025. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00098. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00098
The true burden of Lassa fever virus (LASV) mortality in Northern Nigeria is often obscured by challenges in surveillance, leading to underreporting and hindering effective public health responses. To address this, we set out to determine the hidden burden of LASV using post-mortem mortality surveillance in Sokoto state, Nigeria.
We established a post-mortem mortality surveillance system in two referral hospitals in Sokoto state, Nigeria. Between April 2024 to May 2025, we enrolled decedents (all ages) with documented fever (axillary temperature ≥38.0 Degrees Celsius) and collected data through caregiver interviews and medical records review. We tested blood for LASV,and dengue virus (DENV) using RT-PCR, and Plasmodium falciparum (PF) using microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests.We used frequencies, proportions, and maps to describe decedents. Ethical clearance was obtained.
Of 485 decedents enrolled, the median age was 25 (IQR: 7-40) years with children ≤ 16 years of age accounting for 32.2% (n=156) of the cohort. Slightly more than half were female (51.1%, n=248) and 23.7% (n=115) had underlying medical conditions. Most deaths (79.3%, n=384) occurred within four days of fever onset. Presumptive diagnoses often included malaria or sepsis (55.1%, n=267). Preliminary data on 365 decedents identified 11 (3%) LASV infections, 121/359 (33.7%) with PF, and 1/365 (0.3%) with DENV infection; of the 11 LASV infections, three (27.3%) had PF coinfection. Only 25.1% (52/207) of those who tested positive for PF had received a prior presumptive diagnosis of malaria (or sepsis) before death, whereas 44.2% (88/199) of those who tested positive for PF were not suspected clinically.
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