Nigeria has launched an emergency response centre after recording 190 deaths from Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic illness, the country's disease control agency said on Monday.

The disease, mainly transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or excrement, has infected 1,154 people in six Nigerian states.

Jide Idris, head of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), said the agency’s risk assessment has categorized it as high, prompting the activation of the emergency Operations Centre to manage the outbreak.

“While the disease occurs throughout the year, peak transmission typically happens between October and May, coinciding with the dry season when human exposure to rodents increases,” he said at a press briefing in Abuja.

The centre will ensure seamless coordination of the control and management of the outbreak.

Symptoms of the virus - which can also be passed between people through bodily fluids of those infected - include fever, headaches and, in the most severe cases, death.

The World Health Organization classifies Lassa fever as a priority disease due to its epidemic potential and lack of approved vaccines.