Influenza update
1 February 2013 - Update number 178
Summary
• Influenza activity in North America remained high regionally, though nationally most indicators of transmission began to decrease. Influenza A(H3N2) was the most commonly detected virus subtype. The United States of America reported a sharp increase in the number of pneumonia and influenza-related deaths among adults aged 65+ years.
• Europe in general reported increasing influenza virus detections over the past weeks, though activity started to decrease in some countries in the northwest. The most commonly detected virus across the continent was A(H1N1)pdm09, while influenza B virus predominated in several countries of western Europe.
• In the temperate countries of Asia influenza virus detections increased in the last weeks, while it remained low in most of tropical Asia.
• Influenza activity in North Africa and the Middle East declined overall in the last several weeks, though a few countries reported increases. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the most commonly detected virus in the region.
• Low level activity was noted in most tropical countries, with slight increases observed in the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Paraguay.
• Influenza in countries of the southern hemisphere were currently at inter-seasonal levels.
Source of data
The Global Influenza Programme monitors influenza activity worldwide and publishes an update every two weeks.
The updates are based on available epidemiological and virological data sources, including FluNet (reported by the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System) and influenza reports from WHO Regional Offices and Member States. Completeness can vary among updates due to availability and quality of data available at the time when the update is developed.
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