Plateau State has confirmed a Lassa fever outbreak spanning seven local government areas, with 11 confirmed cases and four fatalities reported 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 situation and the state’s response measures.
“We were first alerted on December 20, 2025, following a case from the Quanpan Local Government Area, and immediately, we activated our incident management team,” Baamlong said.
He noted that two cases were initially confirmed, triggering extensive contact tracing.
According to the commissioner, 28 suspected cases have been recorded so far, out of which six were confirmed.
“At that time, we traced about 69 contacts, from which we recorded 16 suspected cases, and five were confirmed positive.
“This means that from December till now, we have confirmed eleven positive cases in Plateau State,” he said.
Baamlong added that the outbreak has claimed four lives across key health facilities in the state.
“Sadly, we have recorded four deaths, two at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, one at the Plateau Specialist Hospital, and one at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital.
“One of the deaths is a medical practitioner who attended to an infected patient. As of today, another medical doctor is also on admission and receiving treatment,” he disclosed.
He further revealed that 109 contacts are currently under follow-up as health authorities intensify surveillance.
“What we are doing now is to continue active case search through surveillance and to deploy our rapid response teams to affected communities,” Baamlong said.
The affected local government areas include Quanpan, Shendam, Wase, Langtang South, Jos North, Jos South, and Mangu.
The commissioner stressed the importance of public awareness in controlling the outbreak.
“We are commencing active public health enlightenment. This is very key so that we can address and suppress the transmission of this disease,” he said.
He also assured residents that treatment drugs and protective equipment are available.
“The drugs required for treatment, including personal protective equipment, have been distributed to health facilities and are currently available at the Jos University Teaching Hospital and the Plateau Specialist Hospital,” Baamlong said.
Baamlong urged residents to strictly observe preventive measures and seek immediate medical attention if symptoms appear, noting that collective action is crucial to containing the disease.