Lassa Fever Death Toll Hits 204 in Nigeria as Fatality Rate Surpasses 2025 Record
Nigeria’s battle against Lassa fever has intensified, with the death toll rising to 204 in 2026 as Health Authorities warn of a worsening outbreak driven by delayed treatment, poor health-seeking behaviour, and increasing infections among healthcare workers.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in its latest Epidemiological Week 19 report, disclosed that the disease’s case fatality rate has climbed to 25.7 per cent, significantly higher than the 19.4 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.
Despite a slight decline in confirmed infections—from 22 cases in Week 18 to 17 cases in Week 19—the outbreak remains active across 23 States and 108 Local Government areas nationwide. Recent confirmed cases were recorded in Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Kogi, Taraba, and Nasarawa States.
According to the NCDC, five States account for the overwhelming majority of infections reported this year. Bauchi and Ondo states each contributed 26 per cent of confirmed cases, while Taraba accounted for 16 per cent, Edo 9 per cent, and Benue 7 per cent, collectively representing 84 per cent of all infections recorded in 2026.
The report further revealed that young adults between the ages of 21 and 30 years remain the most affected demographic, although infections have been recorded among individuals ranging from one to 90 years old.
Health officials also expressed concern over the growing impact on frontline medical personnel after confirming that another healthcare worker contracted the virus during the reporting week. The latest case has heightened concerns about occupational exposure and workplace safety in health facilities across affected states.
In response, the NCDC has activated a national multi-sectoral Incident Management System to coordinate emergency interventions and strengthen containment efforts. Ongoing measures include rapid response deployments, active case searches, contact tracing, infection prevention training for healthcare workers, public awareness campaigns, and the distribution of protective equipment to health facilities.
The outbreak response is being supported by international partners, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and ALIMA.
As part of efforts to protect frontline workers, authorities have introduced a 30-day Healthcare Worker Protection Plan targeting high-risk states where infections among medical personnel remain a major concern.
The NCDC attributed the rising fatality rate to several factors, including late presentation of patients at healthcare facilities, poor environmental sanitation, inadequate public awareness, and the high cost of treatment and clinical management.
The Agency urged Nigerians to seek medical attention promptly when symptoms appear, while calling on healthcare workers to strictly adhere to infection prevention protocols. State governments were also encouraged to intensify public sensitisation campaigns and strengthen disease surveillance systems to curb further spread of the virus.
