Benue Deploys Surveillance Officers To Curb Spread Of Lassa Fever

Benue State commissioner for health and human services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, has disclosed that 23 surveillance officers have been deployed across the 23 local government areas to strengthen monitoring, contact tracing and community engagement to curb further spread of Lassa fever.

The commissioner who stated this during an  assessment visit to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi isolation centre confirmed the rising number of Lassa fever cases and assured that the state government was intensifying response efforts to contain it.

Ogwuche urged residents to promptly report symptoms at designated health facilities for early diagnosis and treatment, stressing that timely intervention remained critical in reducing fatalities from the disease.

Receiving the health commissioner, the chief medical director of Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Terungwa Stephen Hwande, raised alarm over the surge in Lassa fever cases, with 28 suspected cases recorded at the hospital as of February 2026.

Dr. Hwande commended the commissioner for the visit and noted that the hospital’s management had reinforced infection prevention and control measures.

Hwande called for urgent intervention to upgrade the isolation centre with patient monitors, improved waste management system and other essential equipment.

The head, public relations and protocol at the   Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Tsenzughul Moses, in a statement, said Hwande also revealed plans to establish a functional emergency laboratory within the centre for on-site testing.

Benue State epidemiologist, Dr. Msuega Asema, said as of February 26, 2026, no fewer than 45 cases of Lassa fever had been confirmed out of 250 suspected cases statewide, with 10 cumulative deaths.