A senior medical practitioner affiliated with the AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State has died from complications linked to Lassa fever, prompting health authorities to intensify surveillance and contact-tracing activities.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services in Benue State, Dr. Paul Ejeh-Ogwuche, confirmed the incident on Monday in Makurdi. He disclosed that the state government had immediately activated response mechanisms, including contact tracing and enhanced disease monitoring, following the doctor’s death.
According to the commissioner, the deceased had been ill for more than two weeks before medical tests eventually confirmed that he had contracted Lassa fever. The development comes at a time when Benue State was on the verge of being declared free of the disease.
“There is a fresh case of Lassa fever in the state. He was a doctor and was buried last Saturday, June 20, 2026. He worked with APIN Foundation in Konshisha Local Government Area but hailed from Kwande Local Government Area,” the commissioner said.
“For over two weeks, he was struggling, and when there was no improvement, a friend suggested his condition was suggestive of Lassa fever. A test carried out returned positive.
“So when we wanted to admit him at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, he declined, requesting to be managed at home with drugs and injections. We insisted that he be taken to the teaching hospital for proper evaluation.”
Dr. Ejeh-Ogwuche revealed that preliminary medical assessments showed the doctor had underlying kidney-related complications, which influenced subsequent treatment decisions.
“As a result, we referred him to the University of Jos Teaching Hospital in Plateau State, where he later died. His remains were brought back and buried in line with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention burial protocols on Saturday,” he said.
In response to the latest case, the commissioner said public health campaigns had been intensified across the state, while emergency response measures previously in place for Lassa fever had been reactivated in affected communities.
He also noted that health officials had heightened preparedness for other infectious diseases, including Ebola, with surveillance systems strengthened across healthcare facilities to ensure early detection and response.
“We have been doing sensitisation, checking our facilities, and heightening surveillance. In this case, we have also commenced case investigation and contact tracing,” he said.
The commissioner explained that Benue had nearly completed the process required to declare the outbreak over, having successfully observed a 42-day incubation monitoring period. However, the emergence of the new case means the state must begin a fresh observation cycle before such a declaration can be considered.
