Respiratory Virus Surveillance in the WHO African Region: Week 32: August 7 to 13, 2023
During Epidemiological week 32, 18 countries in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, and Zambia. During week 32, 1,026 specimens were collected, and 1,011 were tested for influenza.
In Epiweek 32, 132 specimens tested positive for influenza virus (positivity of 13.06%), of which 81 specimens were Influenza A, and 51 specimens were Influenza B, out of 1011 specimens processed. The following influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 38), Influenza A (H3) (n = 35), Influenza A (subtyping not performed) (n = 8), Influenza B (lineage not determined) (n = 31), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 20).
Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 32, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has collected 67,563 specimens and tested 67,285, of which 5,319 were positive for influenza virus (positivity rate 7.91%).