Respiratory Virus Surveillance in the WHO African Region: Week 29: July 17 to 23, 2023
During epidemiological week 29, 19 countries in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Angola, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. During week 29, 1,222 specimens were collected, and 1,135 were tested for influenza.
In Epiweek 29, 46 specimens tested positive for influenza virus (positivity of 4.05%), of which 37 specimens were Influenza A, and 9 specimens were Influenza B, out of 1135 specimens processed. The following Influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 23), Influenza A (H3) (n = 11), Influenza A (subtyping not performed) (n = 3), Influenza B (lineage not determined) (n = 4), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 5).
Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 29, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has collected 62,802 specimens and tested 62,537, of which 4,796 were positive for the influenza virus.