Real reporting and conference proceedings featuring IVEPCR / ISTH.
1,787 suspected Lassa fever cases were recorded at ISTH in Q1 2025, with 297 RT-PCR confirmed positives (16.6% positivity) and a 9.8% case fatality rate. Etsako West, Esan West and Esan North East emerged as the leading hotspot LGAs; the 0–19 age group carried the highest incidence while the 80+ group had the highest mortality. Designed by Dr. Isinene Onoabhagbe.
ISTH and IVEPCR researchers had 38 abstracts accepted across all five conference pillars — spanning regional coordination, clinical research and medical countermeasures, surveillance and outbreak response, community engagement, and governance & sustainable financing for epidemic preparedness.
Under the theme 'Beyond Borders: Strengthening Regional Cooperation to Combat Lassa Fever and Emerging Infectious Diseases', LIC 2025 brought together global experts, ECOWAS health ministers and frontline institutions including IVEPCR — building on the momentum of the inaugural Abuja 2019 conference.
Read source →Asogun, Okoeguale, Eifediyi and colleagues presented the Irrua Institute Initiative — a governance model for Lassa fever and emerging infectious diseases — at the ECOWAS Lassa Fever International Conference scientific track.
Read source →A study co-authored by IVEPCR / ISTH faculty (Edeawe, Tobin, Otaigbe, Okoeguale, Eifediyi) documented the impact of EOC coordination meetings on Lassa fever case management in Edo State during the 2025 outbreak.
Read source →Asogun, Okoeguale, Eifediyi, Guenther and Tobin presented the history of the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control — the indigenous initiative that became today's IVEPCR.
Read source →NCDC reported 1,552 suspected cases, 358 confirmed cases and 70 deaths from Lassa fever since the start of the year, with Edo, Ondo and Taraba most affected — placing IVEPCR's reference laboratory at the centre of the national response.
Read source →WHO profiled the work of clinicians and laboratory staff in Edo State, including the Lassa isolation ward at Irrua, where rapid diagnosis and ribavirin treatment continue to save lives.
Read source →The Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole, confirmed cases and called on residents to improve hygiene and report suspected cases — with referrals routed to the IVEPCR / ISTH treatment centre in Irrua.
Read source →Official sequencing and bioinformatics reports issued by the IVEPCR Department of Sequencing and Computational Biology at ISTH.
Comprehensive 2024 progress report from IVEPCR's Department of Sequencing and Computational Biology — covering Lassa virus and SARS-CoV-2 sequencing milestones, training activities, partnerships and Official Reports N°01–N°06.
Metagenomics sequencing results from the 2024 Lassa fever outbreak: 18 of 26 LASV-positive samples yielded genomes for phylogenetic analysis, all clustering within lineage II with evidence of independent transmission events.
