RismadarVoice Reporters
February 7, 2026
Plateau State authorities have confirmed an outbreak of Lassa fever in seven local government areas of the state, with 11 confirmed cases and four deaths recorded since December 2025.
The State 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 measures taken to contain it.
According to Baamlong, the state was first alerted to the outbreak on December 20, 2025, following the confirmation of a case in Quanpan Local Government Area.
“We were first alerted on December 20, 2025, following a case from Quanpan Local Government Area, and immediately, we activated our incident management team,” he said.
He explained that initial investigations led to the identification of two confirmed cases, which prompted extensive contact tracing.
“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,” Baamlong added.
The outbreak has resulted in four fatalities recorded across major hospitals in the state, including the death of a 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,” the commissioner disclosed.
Among the deceased is Dr Salome Oboyi, a senior resident doctor at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, who reportedly contracted the virus while caring for an infected patient and died within two weeks of developing symptoms.
Dr Baamlong said 109 contacts are currently under close monitoring as the state intensifies surveillance and response efforts.
“We are continuing active case searches and deploying rapid response teams to affected communities,” he said.
The affected local government areas are Quanpan, Shendam, Wase, Langtang South, Jos North, Jos South, and Mangu.
The commissioner stressed the importance of public awareness and preventive measures in curbing the spread of 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 assured residents that treatment facilities 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 stated.
