The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has raised an alarm over the resurgence of Lassa fever cases across 18 states and 67 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the country, with 75 Lassa fever deaths already reported in seven weeks.

In its latest Lassa fever situation report, the agency said as of epidemiological week 7 (February 9–15), a total of 326 confirmed cases and 75 deaths were recorded across 16 states and 58 LGAs, representing a case fatality rate (CFR) of 23 percent.

Taraba state recorded the highest number of deaths with 24 fatalities. Bauchi followed with 19 deaths, while Plateau recorded eight fatalities.

Ondo, Edo and Benue states each reported five deaths within the same period. Ebonyi accounted for three deaths, while Nasarawa and Kogi recorded two deaths each. Kano and Kebbi states reported one death apiece.

The NCDC noted that the fatality rate is higher than the 19.7 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.

According to the report, 84 per cent of all confirmed cases were concentrated in Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba and Edo.

Bauchi accounted for 33 per cent of the cases, followed by Ondo with 22 per cent, Taraba with 19 percent and Edo with 10 per cent.

In week 7 alone, 82 new confirmed cases and 20 deaths were recorded across 14 states, up from 74 confirmed cases reported in the previous week.

The predominant age group affected is 21–30 years, with cases ranging from one to 90 years old and a median age of 30.

The agency said five healthcare workers were infected during the reporting week, raising concerns about infection prevention and control measures in health facilities.

The NCDC said the overall number of suspected and confirmed cases so far in 2026 is lower compared to the same period last year.

“National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System (IMS)
activated to support the coordination of response activities at all levels,” the report reads.

Director-General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja said field investigations showed most transmissions were occurring in known endemic areas, but weak implementation of established response frameworks had contributed to the continued spread and higher case fatality rate.

According to him, gaps identified include infections in general outpatient and maternity settings, poor adherence to Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) protocols, and inadequate pre-positioning of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

He added that delayed patient presentation due to financial barriers, inconsistent activation of State Incident Management Systems, weak contact tracing, persistent stigma and poor isolation centre standards were also driving transmission.

Idris emphasised that outbreak response implementation and health service delivery fell primarily under state governments within Nigeria’s federal structure, urging them to strengthen accountability and resource allocation.