Nigeria records 1,000 Lassa fever cases, 237 deaths in 2026

The death toll from the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has risen to 237, with 1,000 confirmed cases reported so far in 2026, public health authorities said Monday.

In its latest update, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said the case fatality rate stood at 23.7% in July, up from 18.8% recorded during the same period in 2025. The agency attributed the rise in deaths to late presentation of cases.

During the first seven months of the year, 116 local government areas in 23 of the country's 36 states recorded at least one confirmed case, the NCDC said, adding that people aged 21 to 30 remained the most affected age group during the reporting period.

The worst-hit states were Edo and Ondo in the south, and Bauchi, Benue and Taraba in the north, which together accounted for 86% of all confirmed cases.

The NCDC said poor sanitation, limited awareness in heavily affected communities and delayed treatment continued to worsen the outbreak.

Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness mainly transmitted through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or feces. Human-to-human transmission can also occur through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people.