Lassa Fever Death Toll Hits 204 as NCDC Raises Concern Over Rising Fatality Rate
A rise in infections and fatalities is keeping Lassa fever firmly on Nigeria’s public health radar, despite a slight decline in new cases during the latest reporting week.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported 204 deaths from Lassa fever across the country in the first 19 epidemiological weeks of 2026, with the disease recording a case fatality rate of 25.7 per cent, higher than the 19.4 per cent recorded during the same period last year.
According to the NCDC’s latest Lassa Fever Situation Report, Nigeria has recorded 793 confirmed cases from 5,034 suspected infections across 23 states and 108 local government areas.
Although new confirmed cases dropped from 22 in week 18 to 17 in week 19, health authorities remain concerned about the increasing death rate and the spread of the disease.
The agency noted that Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo and Benue states accounted for 84 per cent of all confirmed cases recorded this year, while one healthcare worker was infected during the reporting week.
NCDC attributed the high fatality rate to late presentation of cases, poor health-seeking behaviour driven by treatment costs, inadequate environmental sanitation and low public awareness in affected communities.
The agency urged state governments, healthcare workers and partners to intensify prevention efforts, early detection and timely treatment to curb further spread of the disease.
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