The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 469 cases of Lassa fever and 109 related deaths so far in 2026.
According to the agency’s Week 9 Epidemiological Report, which covers February 23 to March 1, the figures represent a case fatality rate of 23.2 per cent, higher than the 18.7 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.
The report indicated that 65 new confirmed cases were recorded during the week, a drop from the 77 cases reported in Week 8. The latest infections were reported in Benue, Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo, Plateau and Nasarawa states.
The NCDC also disclosed that six healthcare workers were infected during the reporting period, bringing the total number of infected health workers to 37 this year.
Between Week 1 and Week 9 of 2026, the country recorded 2,446 suspected cases of Lassa fever. Out of this number, 469 cases were confirmed while four were classified as probable.
The agency said that about 86 per cent of the confirmed cases were reported in five states—Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Benue and Edo—while the remaining 14 per cent came from 13 other states with confirmed infections.
Data from the report showed that 18 states across 69 local government areas have reported at least one confirmed case of Lassa fever this year.
It also revealed that people aged between 21 and 30 years accounted for the highest number of cases, while the male-to-female ratio of confirmed infections stood at 1:0.8.
The NCDC said the national Lassa fever Incident Management System had been activated to coordinate response efforts with various partners. Measures taken include intensified case searches, contact tracing, and the deployment of national rapid response teams to seven high-burden states.
The agency added that personal protective equipment and other response materials have been supplied to treatment centres. It also noted that a targeted infection prevention and control strategy has been launched in Benue State with support from the World Health Organisation.
Other response activities include field missions and clinical support from partners such as Médecins Sans Frontières and the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the NCDC highlighted several challenges affecting response efforts, including late presentation of cases, poor health-seeking behaviour due to the high cost of treatment, inadequate environmental sanitation and the increasing number of infections among healthcare workers.
The agency urged state governments to strengthen community awareness and prevention campaigns, while advising healthcare workers to maintain a high level of suspicion for the disease, ensure early referrals and strictly follow infection prevention and control guidelines.
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