… 165 Confirmed Cases Recorded Across Nine States In Five Weeks
Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba Account For 79% Of Total Infections
… 135 Patients On Treatment, 110 Under Surveillance Nationwide
… Young Adults Aged 21–30 Most Affected
Daud Olatunji
No fewer than nine health workers have been infected with Lassa fever as the disease claimed 31 lives across Nigeria within five weeks, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has disclosed.
The agency, in its latest Lassa fever situation report for 2026, confirmed 165 cases out of 754 suspected infections recorded so far this year, with the outbreak spreading across nine states and 33 local government areas.
According to the report, five states account for 92 per cent of the total confirmed cases, with Bauchi leading at 47 per cent. Ondo followed with 18 per cent, Taraba recorded 14 per cent, Edo eight per cent, while Plateau accounted for five per cent.
The remaining four states contributed eight per cent of the overall caseload.
The NCDC said 135 patients are currently receiving treatment at designated centres nationwide, while at least 110 suspected cases are under contact tracing and close monitoring.
It noted that young adults between the ages of 21 and 30 were the most affected demographic, with a median age of 28 years among confirmed cases. Patients’ ages ranged from one to 74 years, while the male-to-female ratio stood at 1:0.8.
Despite the fatalities, the agency stated that both suspected and confirmed cases recorded within the review period showed a decline compared to figures from the corresponding period in 2025.
On response efforts, the NCDC said it had deployed a high-level field mission to Bauchi State and activated the Incident Management System at the National Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre to strengthen coordination and containment measures.
It added that laboratory samples were being processed across its network to ensure early diagnosis and prompt treatment, while advocacy for a dedicated budget line to support sustained prevention and control efforts was ongoing.
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhhagic disease endemic in Nigeria and other West African countries. It is primarily transmitted to humans through exposure to food or household items contaminated by urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats, commonly found in homes and food storage areas.
Health authorities have urged residents to maintain proper hygiene, store food in rodent-proof containers, and seek immediate medical attention upon noticing symptoms such as fever, weakness, headache, sore throat, chest pain, vomiting and, in severe cases, bleeding.
The NCDC also called on state governments and healthcare workers to intensify surveillance, infection prevention and control measures to curb further spread of the disease.
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