KEY POINTS

• Plateau State has confirmed 11 Lassa fever cases and four deaths across seven local government areas since December 2025.
• One of the fatalities is a health worker, while another doctor is currently receiving treatment.
• Authorities have intensified surveillance, contact tracing, public enlightenment, and treatment efforts to contain the outbreak.

Plateau State has confirmed an outbreak of Lassa fever across seven local government areas, recording 11 confirmed cases and four fatalities since December 2025.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, disclosed this on Saturday during a press briefing at the Ministry of Health in Jos, where he outlined the scope of the outbreak and the state government’s response measures.

According to Dr Baamlong, the outbreak was first detected on December 20, 2025, following the confirmation of a case from Quanpan Local Government Area.

“We were first alerted on December 20, 2025, after a suspected case was reported from Quanpan LGA. Immediately, we activated our Incident Management Team to coordinate the response,” he said.

Two Cases Initially Confirmed

Two cases were initially confirmed, triggering extensive contact tracing and heightened surveillance across affected communities.

The health commissioner explained that the state has recorded 28 suspected cases so far, with 11 confirmed positive after laboratory testing.

“During the initial response, about 69 contacts were traced. From these, 16 individuals became suspected cases, and five were confirmed positive,” Baamlong said.

“This brings the total number of confirmed Lassa fever cases in Plateau State to eleven since December.”

Dr Baamlong confirmed that the Lassa outbreak has claimed four lives, including that of a healthcare professional.

“Sadly, we have recorded four deaths—two at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, one at the Plateau Specialist Hospital, and one at Bingham University Teaching Hospital,” he disclosed.

“One of the fatalities was a medical practitioner who became infected while attending to a patient. As of today, another medical doctor is currently on admission and receiving treatment,” he added.