A staggering 95 out of every 100 fever cases in Lagos are not linked to malaria, according to new data revealed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi. The startling statistic has ignited urgent calls for a shift in fever management and diagnosis protocols across the state .
Prof. Abayomi disclosed the data during the three-day kick-off of the Pathway to Pre-Elimination and Digitization Project, held in Lagos. The event focused on a Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test and Microscopy Comparative Study and a detailed assessment of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors’ (PPMVs) capacity to manage malaria and other febrile illnesses.
“This finding is critical,” Abayomi said, “because the widespread assumption that fever equals malaria is driving misdiagnosis, poor treatment outcomes, and a dangerous increase in antimicrobial resistance.”
The state government is now championing a multi-pronged strategy to tackle fever cases more accurately. The approach involves improving diagnostic capacity, training informal drug vendors, and strengthening public awareness on the need for testing before treatment.
With malaria long regarded as the default diagnosis for febrile illness in many communities, this shift is expected to have far-reaching implications for health policy, clinical practice, and public health education in Lagos.
Abayomi stressed that the misuse of antimalarial drugs and antibiotics, especially when fever is not malaria-related, is not only ineffective but could also worsen Nigeria’s battle against drug-resistant infections.
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