Nigeria’s Lassa fever outbreak has claimed 252 lives this year, with health authorities warning that delayed treatment, limited awareness and other challenges are continuing to complicate efforts to contain the disease.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) recorded 1,035 confirmed cases as of epidemiological week 33, putting the case fatality rate at 24.4 per cent.
The figure represents a worrying increase compared with the same period in 2025, when the fatality rate stood at 18.6 per cent.
The latest situation report also showed that the disease has continued to spread across the country. A total of 23 states and 117 Local Government Areas have recorded at least one confirmed case since the beginning of the year.
Five states — Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo and Benue — account for 87 per cent of the confirmed cases. Ondo recorded the highest share at 33 per cent, followed by Bauchi with 25 per cent, Taraba at 13 per cent, Edo at 10 per cent and Benue at six per cent.
The NCDC said 14 additional confirmed cases were identified between August 10 and 16, a significant rise from the four cases reported during the previous week. The new infections were recorded in Ondo, Bauchi, Edo and Benue.
The cumulative number of suspected cases has now reached 7,426, while six probable cases have also been documented.
People aged between 21 and 30 remain the most affected age group. Confirmed patients have ranged from one to 93 years old, with a median age of 30. The male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases is 1:0.9.
Healthcare workers have also remained vulnerable during the outbreak. According to the NCDC, 54 health workers have been infected cumulatively in 2026, although no new healthcare-worker infection was recorded during the latest reporting week.
The agency identified late presentation, high treatment and clinical management costs, poor environmental sanitation and inadequate awareness in high-burden communities among the major obstacles to the response.
Healthcare-worker infections were also listed as a concern.
The NCDC has consequently intensified surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, risk communication and case management in affected states. It has also developed a 30-day Healthcare Worker Protection Plan with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Personal protective equipment has been distributed and pre-positioned at health facilities, while national rapid response teams have been deployed to seven high-burden states.
The agency said additional training was being provided to healthcare workers on screening, triage, infection prevention and Lassa fever case management.
Lassa fever is primarily transmitted through contact with food or household items contaminated by the urine or faeces of infected multimammate rats. Person-to-person transmission can also occur, particularly in healthcare environments where adequate infection-control measures are not followed.
The NCDC has urged communities in affected areas to improve awareness and seek medical attention early, stressing that prompt recognition, referral and treatment remain essential to reducing deaths.
