ABUJA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Lassa fever in Nigeria has risen to 268, with 1,138 confirmed cases reported so far this year, public health authorities said on Monday.
The case fatality rate stood at 23.6 percent between Sept. 21 and Oct. 4, up from 18.6 percent during the same period in 2025, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said in its latest situation report.
At least one confirmed case had been reported in 119 local government areas across 24 of Nigeria's 36 states so far this year, the NCDC said, adding that people aged 21 to 30 remained the most affected age group during the reporting period.
The hardest-hit states were Edo and Ondo in the south, and Bauchi, Benue and Taraba in the north. Together, they accounted for 88 percent of all confirmed cases in the country, the NCDC said.
The NCDC said poor sanitation, limited awareness in heavily affected communities and delays in seeking 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. ■