Nigeria has recorded 1,035 confirmed cases of Lassa fever and 252 deaths in 23 states and 117 local government areas (LGAs) in the first 33 epidemiological weeks of 2026, with the mortality rate increasing to 24.4 percent.
The latest Lassa Fever Situation Report by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), covering August 10 to 16, showed that the country recorded 14 new confirmed cases and two deaths during epidemiological week 33.
The cumulative figures for 2026 represent an increase from the 854 confirmed cases and 159 deaths recorded during the same period in 2025, when the case fatality rate (CFR) stood at 18.6 percent.
According to the report, the 14 new confirmed cases recorded in week 33 were reported in Ondo, Edo, Bauchi and Benue states, representing a sharp increase from the four cases recorded in epidemiological week 32.
The NCDC said five states accounted for the overwhelming majority of confirmed infections in the country, with 87 per cent of all confirmed cases reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo and Benue states.
Ondo State accounted for 33 percent of the cases, followed by Bauchi with 25 percent, Taraba 13 percent, Edo 10 percent and Benue six percent. The remaining 13 percent of cases were reported in 18 other states.
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The report further stated that people aged 21 to 30 years were the predominantly affected age group, although confirmed cases ranged from one to 93 years, with a median age of 30 years. The male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases was 1:0.9.
The NCDC also revealed that 54 healthcare workers were affected by Lassa fever in 2026, although no new infections were recorded among healthcare workers during week 33.
It said 12 patients were being seen in treatment centers during the reporting week, bringing the cumulative number of cases seen in treatment centers in 2026 to 783.
As for contact tracing, the report says 2,007 contacts have been included in total, and 168 are still under follow-up. A total of 1,836 contacts had completed follow-up, while 110 symptomatic contacts were identified and 49 tested positive.
The NCDC said it had stepped up interventions to contain the outbreak, including training health workers, strengthening infection prevention and control measures, supporting active case finding and contact tracing, and pre-positioning personal protective equipment and other supplies in health facilities.
It also said a 30-day Health Worker Protection Plan had been developed to reduce infections among front-line health workers in endemic states, with support from the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency said national rapid response teams had also been deployed in seven high-incidence states, while incident management systems for Lassa fever had been activated in Benue, Plateau, Kebbi, Kano and Gombe states.
However, the NCDC identified late presentation of cases, poor health-seeking behavior related to high cost of treatment, poor environmental sanitation, low awareness in high-burden communities and infections of healthcare workers as major challenges in controlling the disease.
The agency urged states to maintain community engagement in Lassa fever prevention year-round, while recommending healthcare workers maintain a high index of suspicion, make timely referrals, and begin treatment promptly, along with strict adherence to infection prevention and control procedures.
The NCDC further called for greater state capacity to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to Lassa fever outbreaks.
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