Plateau State authorities have confirmed an outbreak of Lassa fever in seven local government areas, with 11 positive cases and four deaths reported since December 2025.
According to Channels TV, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Baamlong, spoke during a press event on Saturday at the Ministry of Health in Jos, explaining the scope of the outbreak and the state’s reaction.
“We were first alerted on December 20, 2025, following a case from Quanpan Local Government Area, and immediately, we activated our incident management team,” Baamlong said, noting that initial investigations identified two confirmed cases that triggered extensive contact tracing.
He added, “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.”
The outbreak has led to four deaths across major hospitals in the state, including one medical practitioner.
“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,” Baamlong disclosed.
Dr. Salome Oboyi, a senior resident doctor at Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos, was one of the victims, having contracted Lassa fever while caring for a patient and dying within two weeks of acquiring symptoms.
Dr. Baamlong stated that 109 contacts are currently being closely monitored as the state increases surveillance and response.
“We are continuing active case searches and deploying rapid response teams to affected communities,” he said.
The affected local governments are Quanpan, Shendam, Wase, Langtang South, Jos North, Jos South, and Mangu.
The commissioner stressed the role of public education in controlling the disease. “We are commencing active public health enlightenment. This is key so that we can address and suppress the transmission of this disease,” he said.
He further assured that treatment 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.
Residents were warned to take precautions and seek quick medical assistance if symptoms appeared. The commissioner emphasized that limiting the outbreak is a common duty.
