Oyo State has recorded 131 suspected Lassa fever cases from January to 10 September 2026, with six confirmed cases and one death. The state Commissioner for Health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Thursday. Ms Ajetunmobi clarified that the figures did not indicate an ongoing Lassa fever outbreak in the state.
She said that Lassa fever was endemic in some parts of the state, adding that a single confirmed case was technically regarded as an outbreak. “But such suspected cases could not be classified as confirmed until laboratory tests established the infection,” she said. “Many suspected cases were reported because the initial symptoms of Lassa fever could resemble malaria and other febrile illnesses.
“We have 131 suspected cases, es and out of these, we have six confirmed cases and one dead.” The commissioner noted that some patients initially presented with fever and other symptoms that could be associated with malaria or other infections, making laboratory testing necessary for proper diagnosis. She said that samples from suspected cases were collected and sent to laboratories for confirmation, adding that confirmed cases were treated immediately.
Ms Ajetunmobi noted that the state’s public health emergency operation centre and surveillance notification officers were activated when a suspected case was identified, and that samples were taken for laboratory testing. “If it’s Lassa fever, we treat it immediately, and suspected cases that tested negative were subsequently ruled out,” she said.
She, however, urged residents to maintain a high index of suspicion, particularly as changing climatic conditions appeared to be affecting the traditional seasonal pattern of Lassa fever transmission. The commissioner said that Lassa fever was traditionally associated with the dry season, particularly around October and November, and again around March and April, but suspected cases were