The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has raised concerns that limited laboratory diagnostic capacity for Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) in Nigeria is leading to frequent cases of misdiagnosis, underdiagnosis, and inappropriate treatment of patients.
The warning came on Wednesday during a media roundtable in Abuja organised by the U.S. CDC in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and other health partners.
According to the Senior Public Health Specialist for Epidemiology and Surveillance at the U.S. CDC Nigeria, Dr. Oladipupo Ipadeola, AFI refers to sudden onset of fever—caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, or fungi—that often presents with overlapping symptoms, complicating management when laboratory support is lacking.
> “In Nigeria, limited laboratory diagnostic capacity for AFI is leading to misdiagnosis or underdiagnosis of diseases, and inappropriate treatment and management of patients,” Ipadeola stated.
He explained that robust AFI surveillance is critical for early detection of outbreaks, understanding disease patterns, and implementing timely control measures.
Ipadeola noted that the U.S. CDC, in partnership with NCDC, has already set up sentinel surveillance sites across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, testing over 11,000 samples for priority diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, Lassa fever, and COVID-19.
The initiative has also upgraded laboratory equipment, introduced multiplex PCR testing, and trained health workers to strengthen Nigeria’s diagnostic capacity.
The Programme Director at the Division of Global Health Protection, U.S. CDC Nigeria, Dr. Farah Husain, stressed that AFIs remain some of the most common but poorly understood illnesses, calling for stronger systems to identify their burden and spread.
> “The overall intent of this system is to help improve early detection, enhance laboratory capacity, strengthen data, and ultimately help us respond better and faster to outbreaks,” she said.
On her part, NCDC’s Director of Surveillance, Dr. Fatima Saleh, emphasised the need for stronger surveillance, improved response capacity, and broader government advocacy to ensure evidence-based actions.
The experts agreed that addressing gaps such as weak policies, limited testing facilities, and poor diagnostic systems is crucial to safeguard public health and prevent avoidable deaths.
