Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Flags Transport Costs, Data Gaps Hindering Lassa Fever Response

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has identified high specimen transportation costs, inconsistent reporting and weak data validation systems as major obstacles to the timely detection and response to Lassa fever cases in some states.

The Director-General of the agency, Jide Idris, disclosed this in an interview with the Newsmen in Abuja today.

Idris explained that transporting samples from remote communities to state laboratories remains both costly and logistically demanding, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. He noted that rising fuel prices and broader transportation challenges continue to delay turnaround times for laboratory results.

While acknowledging improvements in testing speed due to the establishment of zonal laboratories, he said performance still varies across states. According to him, the agency monitors key indicators such as detection timelines, reporting within 24 hours and response within 48 hours under the 7-1-7 surveillance benchmark.

The 7-1-7 target requires suspected cases to be detected within seven days, reported within one day and responded to within seven days.

Although the NCDC coordinates response efforts nationally through its Incident Management System, Idris stressed that effective outbreak control depends largely on execution at the state level.