Nigeria recorded 268 deaths from Lassa fever among 1,138 laboratory-confirmed cases between the beginning of 2026 and 4 October, as the fatality rate rose well above the level recorded during the same period last year.
The latest Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention data puts the case fatality rate at 23.6 per cent, compared with 18.6 per cent during the corresponding period of 2025. This means that nearly one in four people whose infection was confirmed had died, although the rate does not include suspected cases that were never laboratory-confirmed.
The cumulative figures cover epidemiological weeks one to 40. During week 40 alone, from 28 September to 4 October, three new cases were confirmed in Bauchi and Benue states, down from 13 cases in the previous week. One of the three patients died.
The fall in weekly infections is encouraging, but it does not remove the wider concern created by the high number of deaths. The NCDC situation-report series shows that both confirmed cases and deaths are running above the comparable 2025 totals.
Five states carry most of the burden
At least one confirmed case has been recorded in 24 states and 119 local government areas. Five states account for 88 per cent of all confirmed infections: Ondo with 36 per cent, Bauchi with 23 per cent, Taraba with 12 per cent, Edo with 11 per cent and Benue with six per cent. The remaining 12 per cent is spread across 19 states.
People aged 21 to 30 remain the most affected age group. The patients recorded during the year ranged from one to 93 years old, showing that the illness can affect every generation. Fifty-four healthcare workers have also been infected cumulatively in 2026, although no new healthcare-worker infection was reported in week 40.
The NCDC has linked the elevated fatality rate to late presentation at health facilities, poor health-seeking behaviour and the cost of treatment. These factors can reinforce one another. A household may delay seeking care because early symptoms resemble malaria or another common fever, while fear of medical costs can create a further delay. By the time specialist treatment begins, the illness may already be severe.
How Lassa fever spreads
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness. It is transmitted primarily when people come into contact with food or household items contaminated by the urine or faeces of infected multimammate rats. Infection may occur during food preparation, sweeping or cleaning where contaminated particles are disturbed, or through direct contact with rodents.
Person-to-person transmission can also occur through contact with the blood, urine, faeces or other bodily fluids of an infected person. The risk is particularly important in hospitals and clinics when appropriate infection-prevention measures are not followed. Lassa fever is not generally spread through ordinary casual contact without exposure to infected body fluids.
Early symptoms may include fever, weakness, headache, sore throat, cough, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or chest pain. Severe illness may involve facial swelling, breathing difficulty, bleeding or shock. Hearing loss can occur during or after infection.
These symptoms overlap with malaria, typhoid and several other illnesses. People should therefore not attempt to diagnose Lassa fever solely from a symptom list. Anyone with persistent fever, especially in an affected area or after possible rodent exposure, should contact a health facility promptly and explain the possible exposure.
Practical steps households can take
Food, grains and animal feed should be kept in tightly covered, rodent-proof containers. Households should dispose of rubbish away from living areas, keep kitchens and food-storage spaces clean, block openings that may allow rodents into buildings and avoid drying food directly on the ground or roadside.
Dead or captured rodents should not be handled with bare hands. Anyone cleaning an area contaminated by rodent waste should avoid raising dust, use appropriate protection where available and wash their hands thoroughly afterwards. Families should also avoid consuming rats, particularly in places where Lassa fever is circulating.
If a person develops a fever that does not improve, early assessment matters. Patients should tell healthcare workers about recent travel, contact with a sick person, residence in an affected community or exposure to rodents. Close contacts should follow public-health instructions and should not conceal symptoms because of stigma or fear.
Response continues across high-burden states
The NCDC says it has developed a 30-day healthcare-worker protection plan with support from the World Health Organisation and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Personal protective equipment has been distributed to health facilities, while national rapid-response teams have been deployed to seven high-burden states.
Incident-management systems have been activated in Benue, Plateau, Kebbi, Kano and Gombe. The response has also included training for frontline workers, active case searches, contact tracing and community engagement with religious leaders, traditional leaders, farmers and market women.
However, the agency continues to identify poor sanitation, limited awareness and late referral as obstacles. Sustained prevention is required even when weekly case numbers fall because Lassa fever is endemic in Nigeria and infections can rise again when rodent exposure increases.
Residents who need official guidance or help reporting a suspected public-health emergency can contact the NCDC through its toll-free number, 6232. Podium News will continue to track the weekly situation reports and any significant change in cases, deaths or affected states.
