Lassa fever deaths in Nigeria rise 45% to 109 in two weeks

Deaths from ongoing Lassa fever outbreak rose by about 45% within two weeks, reaching 109 fatalities, according to the situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention released on Monday.

The report, which covers the period from February 23 to March 1, 2026 shows that cumulative deaths increased from 75 in epidemiological week seven to 109 in week nine.

The 109 deaths represent a case fatality rate of 23.2%, which is higher than the 18.7% recorded during the same period in 2025.

The report showed a total of 2,446 suspected cases and 469 confirmed cases had been recorded so far this year.

The report also highlighted continued risks to frontline health workers. Six new healthcare workers were infected with Lassa fever during the reporting week 9, underscoring ongoing exposure risks in clinical settings.

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In total, 18 States have recorded at least one confirmed case of Lassa fever across 69 Local Government Areas this year.

However, the majority of infections remain concentrated in a handful of States.

According to the report, 86% of all confirmed cases were reported from five States – Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Benue and Edo — while the remaining 14% were spread across 13 other States with confirmed infections.

Among the five most affected states, Bauchi accounted for the largest share of confirmed cases at 28%? followed by Ondo with 22%. Taraba recorded 19%, Benue nine percent and Edo eight percent of the total confirmed infections.

The predominant age group among confirmed cases is 21 to 30 years, although patients’ ages ranged from one to 90 years, with a median age of 30 years.

Data from the report showed that men were slightly more affected than women, with a male-to-female ratio of 1 to 0.8 among confirmed cases.

Despite the rise in deaths, the report indicated that the number of suspected and confirmed cases so far in 2026 is lower than the figures recorded during the same period last year.

To strengthen the national response, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said the National Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System has been activated to coordinate response activities across all levels of Government and partner organisations.

Lassa fever is endemic in Nigeria and outbreaks are recorded annually, particularly during the dry season when human exposure to infected rodents increases. The disease is transmitted mainly through contact with food or household items contaminated by urine or faeces of infected rodents, as well as through human-to-human transmission in healthcare settings.

Public Health Authorities continue to emphasise early detection, prompt treatment and strengthened infection prevention measures as critical to reducing deaths and limiting the spread of the disease.