Plateau State has confirmed an outbreak of Lassa fever affecting seven local government areas, with 11 positive cases and four deaths recorded since December 2025.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Baamlong, provided the update on Saturday during a press briefing at the Ministry of Health in Jos, outlining the outbreak and response measures.
“We were first alerted on December 20, 2025, following a case from Quanpan Local Government Area, and immediately activated our incident management team,” Baamlong said.
He explained that two cases were initially confirmed, prompting extensive contact tracing. Since then, a total of 28 suspected cases have been investigated, resulting in 11 confirmed infections.
“At that time, we traced 69 contacts, from which 16 suspected cases emerged, and five were confirmed positive. From December till now, Plateau State has recorded 11 confirmed cases,” he said.
The outbreak has claimed four lives across major health facilities, including one health worker.
“Sadly, we have recorded four deaths: two at Jos University Teaching Hospital, one at Plateau Specialist Hospital, and one at Bingham University Teaching Hospital. One of the deceased was a medical practitioner who attended to an infected patient. Another medical doctor is currently on admission and receiving treatment,” Baamlong disclosed.
Currently, 109 contacts are under follow-up as health authorities intensify surveillance and response efforts.
“What we are doing now is continuing active case searches through surveillance and deploying rapid response teams to affected communities,” he said.
The affected local government areas include Quanpan, Shendam, Wase, Langtang South, Jos North, Jos South, and Mangu.
Dr. Baamlong emphasized the importance of public health education in controlling the outbreak.
“We are commencing active public enlightenment campaigns. This is key to addressing and suppressing the transmission of this disease,” he said.
He also assured residents that treatment and protective materials are available.
“The drugs required for treatment, including personal protective equipment, have been distributed to health facilities and are currently available at Jos University Teaching Hospital and Plateau Specialist Hospital,” he said.
The commissioner urged residents to adhere strictly to preventive measures and to seek prompt medical attention if symptoms arise, stressing that collective responsibility is essential to containing the outbreak.
