Musa fell ill in Bauchi State earlier this year with fever, headache, and stomach pain—symptoms commonly linked to malaria. He was treated at a private clinic and discharged after five days, but his health deteriorated. A community outreach team referred him to the Lassa Fever Treatment Centre at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, where he was diagnosed with Lassa fever in a severe state. "They could not understand what I was suffering from," he said. He spent 29 days in treatment before recovering.
Early symptoms of Lassa fever mimic those of malaria and typhoid, making diagnosis difficult. "Lassa fever is a disease that essentially disguises itself," said Ayokunnu Raji, MSF's emergency medical programme manager. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported 146 deaths from Lassa fever between January and mid-March, with a case fatality rate of 25.1 per cent—higher than the 18.7 per cent recorded in the same period in 2025. Thirty-eight health workers have been infected this year, including three MSF staff in February, one of whom died.
Fear and stigma also hinder care. Musa said people avoided him, believing the illness was a curse. MSF runs survivor clinics to manage post-recovery risks, including hearing loss and potential virus transmission.
Musa's 29-day hospitalisation underscores how misdiagnosis turns a treatable illness into a life-threatening crisis. When clinics in Bauchi default to malaria prescriptions without confirmatory tests, patients become unwitting vectors and healthcare workers like the MSF staff who died in February pay the price. The NCDC's rising case fatality rate isn't just a statistic—it's proof that Nigeria's frontline health facilities still can't reliably tell malaria from Lassa fever. Until rapid testing becomes standard, not exceptional, this cycle will repeat.
