Influenza Update N° 490

Overview

^{Published 28 August 2024 | For reporting Week 33, ending 18 August 2024}

Influenza

• In the Northern hemisphere, influenza activity in temperate countries remained at interepidemic levels. Activity was elevated in countries in Central America and the Caribbean (primarily due to A(H3N2) viruses), Western Africa (due to A(H3N2) and B viruses), Middle Africa (due to A(H3N2) viruses), Southern Asia (due to A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses), and South East Asia(due to A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses). Activity increased in some countries in Western Africa, Middle Africa, Southern Asia, and South East Asia.
• In the Southern hemisphere, influenza activity remained elevated in countries in South America (due to influenza A(H3N2) and B viruses), Eastern Africa (due to A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) viruses), Southern Africa (due to B viruses), and Oceania (due to A(H3N2) viruses). Activity increased in some areas of Eastern Africa and declined or was similar in most other countries.
  

SARS-CoV-2

• SARS-CoV-2 activity remained elevated in many countries across the Northern hemisphere. Small increases in activity were reported in countries in Tropical South America, in Northern, South West, and Eastern Europe, and in Eastern Asia.

WHO encourages countries, especially those that have received the multiplex influenza and SARS-CoV-2 reagent kits from GISRS, to conduct integrated surveillance of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and report epidemiological and laboratory information in a timely manner to established regional and global platforms. The guidance can be found here https://covid.comesa.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-integrated_sentinel_surveillance-2022.1.