Korede Abdullah 
LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigeria’s worsening Lassa fever outbreak has claimed 191 lives in 2026 as infections spread across 23 states and 106 local government areas, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
In its latest report released Wednesday, the NCDC says the fatality rate has climbed to 24.6 per cent, significantly higher than the 19.2 per cent recorded during the same period last year.
Health authorities identify Bauchi State, Ondo State, Taraba State, Edo State and Benue State as the worst-hit areas, accounting for 84 per cent of confirmed cases.
The NCDC says delayed hospital visits remain a major factor driving fatalities, as early symptoms are often mistaken for malaria or typhoid fever.
Director-General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, warns that late diagnosis is worsening survival rates.
Experts also blame poverty, expensive treatment and limited access to specialist centres for the rising deaths, especially in rural communities.
The disease spreads mainly through contact with urine or faeces from infected multimammate rats, with poor sanitation and climate-related changes increasing human exposure.
Health workers are also under growing pressure after another frontline medical worker contracted the virus during the latest reporting week.
Treatment centres in Owo and Irrua are reportedly overwhelmed amid shortages of protective equipment and ribavirin, the primary antiviral medication used for treatment.
The World Health Organization classifies Lassa fever as a priority disease with pandemic potential because there is currently no approved vaccine.
International partners including the Médecins Sans Frontières and the US CDC have deployed support teams to Nigeria as authorities intensify containment efforts.
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Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
Oluwatobi Adu 
Mirian Gom