Nigeria’s Lassa fever outbreak has now claimed 268 lives out of 1,138 confirmed infections, according to the latest update from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). The cases span 24 states, and the case fatality rate stands at 23.6 per cent.
The data comes from the agency’s situation report for epidemiological weeks 39 and 40, which runs from September 21 to October 4, 2026. The current fatality rate is notably higher than the 18.6 per cent logged over the same stretch of 2025, meaning a larger share of confirmed patients are dying from the disease.
Transmission has been recorded in 119 Local Government Areas. Five states, Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Benue and Edo, account for 88 per cent of all confirmed cases in the period. People between 21 and 30 years old are the hardest-hit age group. On a more positive note, no new infections were reported among health workers in either week.
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Weekly numbers have dropped sharply. Week 40 (September 28 to October 4) saw only three new confirmed cases, all in Bauchi and Benue, down from 13 in week 39. That brought the national totals to 1,138 cases and 268 deaths.
In week 39 (September 21 to 27), the 13 new cases were all reported in Ondo State, up from 11 in week 38. Cumulative figures at that point were 1,134 cases and 267 deaths. The fatality rate for that week was 23.6 per cent, compared with 18.5 per cent a year earlier.
The NCDC publishes these reports regularly to track confirmed cases, deaths, affected states and LGAs, and the age distribution of infections.
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness. People typically contract it by consuming food or handling household items contaminated with the urine or droppings of infected rodents. It can also pass between people through contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, especially in healthcare facilities that lack proper infection prevention and control.
To lower the risk, the NCDC urged the public to keep their surroundings clean, store food in rodent-proof containers and avoid contact with rats. The agency stressed that these precautions are key to limiting exposure and slowing the spread.
