Health

Between December 30, 2024, and January 5, 2025, Nigeria reported 54 new cases of Lassa fever and 10 fatalities. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) disclosed these figures in its week one situation report for 2025, published on its website. The report indicated a decline in new confirmed cases from 70 in the final week of 2024 to 54 in the first week of 2025. However, there was an increase in suspected cases compared to the same period in the previous year.

The Rivers State Government has confirmed the deaths of nine persons following a suspected cholera outbreak in two of its local government areas in the state. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, made the disclosure this afternoon during a press briefing in Port Harcourt, the River state capital. Oreh identified the affected LGAs to be Andoni, where three deaths were recorded, and Akuku-Toru, where other six suffered fatalities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday that a suspected outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Tanzania has resulted in eight fatalities, cautioning that the risk of further spread within the country and the region remains “high.” The UN health agency informed its member states on Monday about a “suspected Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak in the Kagera region” of Tanzania. “We are currently aware of nine cases, including eight deaths. As disease surveillance improves, we anticipate identifying additional cases in the coming days,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared on social media platform X.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is set to encourage firms and manufacturers with incentives to develop pediatric medicines.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has today revealed that the agency is extremely under-staffed. The Director-General, DG of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known today during a news conference organised in Lagos to outline the agency’s focus for 2025.

The Nigerian Government has expresses concern to contain the current surge of a respiratory virus, Human Metapneumovirus, which has spiked across northern Chinese provinces in China.