Influenza Update N° 493

Overview

^{Published 18 September 2024 | For reporting Week 36, ending 8 September 2024}

Influenza

• In the Northern hemisphere, influenza activity in temperate countries remained at interepidemic levels. Activity was elevated in 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) and was also elevated in a few countries in Western Asia (due to A(H1N1)pdm09 and B viruses) and Central America and the Caribbean (due to A(H3N2) viruses). Activity continued to increase in a few countries in Middle Africa.
• In the Southern hemisphere, influenza activity remained elevated in some countries in South America (due to A(H3N2) and B viruses), Eastern Africa (due to A(H3N2) and B viruses), Southern Africa (due to B viruses), and Oceania (due to A viruses). Activity declined or was similar compared with the prior report across the Southern hemisphere.
  

SARS-CoV-2

• SARS-CoV-2 activity remained elevated in many countries in Europe and a few countries in Western Asia, Eastern Asia, and Tropical South America. Increased activity was seen in a few reporting countries in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, but was similar or declined compared with the prior report in all other reporting countries.

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://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-integrated_sentinel_surveillance-2022.1.