Respiratory Virus Surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 02, January 8 to 14, 2024
During Epidemiological week (Epiweek) 2, 21 countries from the 5 influenza transmission zones in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.
During Epiweek 2, 1,689 specimens were collected, and 1,676 were tested for influenza. Cumulatively, the network has collected 2,786 specimens and tested 2,767 for influenza.
In Epiweek 2, 223 specimens tested positive for influenza virus (positivity of 13.3%), of which 197 specimens were Influenza A, and 26 specimens were Influenza B. The following influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 116), Influenza A (H3) (n = 75), Influenza A (subtyping not performed) (n=6), Influenza B (lineage not determined) (n = 3), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 23).